I might be a bit behind with this but just yesterday I saw my first dragonfly of the year. It was a hairy dragonfly and the excitement for summer set in. Though the weather muggy and somewhat grey, our winged invertebrate friends, be they damsel or dragon, have escaped from their underwater lairs to emerge from their larval cases or exuviae.
Damselflies and dragonflies spend most of their lives underwater, a few years in some cases. Their lifetime in the open air is just a fraction of this living for a couple of months at most, but just enough time to reproduce young for a few seasons time.
The "mating wheel" they form is a sure sign of summer and here you see two large red damselflies in action. Look at the detail on that! Thanks for sending us this amazing photo David Rye.
Couple of the season? (Photo courtesy of David Rye)
If you have any photos that you would like to share with us then you can send them to natureshome@rspb.org.uk. Or perhaps you'd like to give dragonflies and damselflies a home by digging a pond in your garden.