At least 4 small red-eyed damselflies on Cambourne Pond in the Sankey
Valley, St Helens today. This species had never been recorded in the UK
before 1999 when the first were seen in southern England but over the past
few years they have spread further north with some seen near Crosby in
2024.
Earlier this year there was a report of the species also being seen at
Cambourne Pond in 2024 so we decided to check it out today. They weren't
easy to see let alone photograph but in the end we got enough to confirm the
identification. Apart from being smaller than the commoner red-eyed
damselfly, small red-eyed has more blue on the tip of the abdomen (segments
8, 9 & 10 as opposed to just 9 & 10 on red-eyed) and segment 10 has
a black X in the blue, which you can just make out in the photo above.
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Photo: Small red-eyed damselfly Cambourne Pond 20-06-2025 © Ray Banks |
A full blown UK tick for me so obviously also my first in St Helens
☑️.
Cambourne Pond.
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