Once the Small Red-Eyed Damselfly (photo 1) could only be found in the countries around the Mediterranean and was in the 1960’s a rare vagrant in the most southern part of the Netherlands. In the 1970’s this damselfly started its journey northwards (climate change?) and the last 5 years an extremely common species in the North West of the Netherlands.
The Small Red-eyed Damselfly can easily be mistaken for the Red-eyed damselfly in the field, the Red-eyed is lager and its eyes are more intense red than that of the Small Red-eyed.
The Red-eyed can be observed from April to June and the Small Red-eyed from June to the beginning of September, the two species overlap each other for a few weeks in June and that is the time when mistaken identity can occur.
Yool
Bedankt Robert voor deze informatie en de afbeeldingen zijn wederom fantastic !!!
DottieDees
THis is so wonderful..love your knowledge and the captures!!
jesika
Some species win, some lose. In 1994, just before I moved house, I saw my first Comma butterfly in my garden. Now they are common and have moved even further north. Speckled Wood arrived about 6 years ago, he’s common & has moved further north. But Small Tortoiseshell and Wall are in serious decline.
j
hilarydougill
I love how we now have species we never had before, like the hummingbird moth, I could have wept when I saw my first one. They were unheard of in the North of England. Wonderful commentary. hugsxxx