More Demoiselles and a Water Ladybird

I called in at Havannah Flashes again on my way home from work today. There were masses of Banded Demoiselles on the wing, I counted at least 50 from the wooden bridge over the brook. They were flitting around all over the places, way into the distance, but a lot of the activity was centred around a poor female which was trying to lay eggs in the water, but which was being almost assaulted by at least 5 males who were each trying to mate with her. In the end I'm almost certain that the female drowned, because she looked like she was just floating in the water, still with a determined male attached!

Nearby on the flashes themselves, just where the small bridge crosses the flash, I found two Water Ladybirds. This is a species which lives in reedbeds and is therefore quite scarce in St Helens. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me today, but click here for some more information on Water Ladybird.