Today I took my annual run down to Thompson Common in the Brecks to look for Norfolk's rarest resident damselfly, the Scarce Emerald. These are notoriously difficult to separate from Common Damsel, so I've taken the liberty of pointing out three critical features!
1) Small square green spots behind the thorax of the female
2) Some green on S2 of the male (all blue on Common!)
3) Somewhat thicker, shorter pterostigmata (with buff tips)
If you've never visited, Thompson Common is amazing, with all the regular Darters and Chasers, as well as Norfolk, Brown and Migrant Hawkers. Lots of other nice beasties too, including Grass Snake and Buzzard. Good to bump into Yare Valley patcher Murray, as well as a delightful family from Bath up here on holiday.
 |
| Common Emerald for comparison! |
No comments:
Post a Comment