Photo:Male Banded Demoiselle damselfly (Calopteryx splendens)
I have a few go-to places when I want to see dragonflies and damselflies. One of them is a copse of trees beside the river Brosna not far from the Lilliput side of Lough Ennell in Westmeath. Alas, it is increasingly becoming a go-to spot for illegal dumping. However, beyond the rubbish were some examples of real beauty. There was a large variety of damselflies to be seen, but I’ll focus on two particular damselfly species in this post – the demoiselles.  Nature’s jewellers certainly worked their evolutionary magic when they came up with demoiselles.

Photo:Female Banded Demoiselle damselfly

The aptly named Beautiful demoiselle damselfly (also called Demoiselle Agrion)