| Gallery: Dragonflies |  |
The dragonflies belong to the sub-order 'Anisoptera'. Generally speaking, you can tell a dragonfly from a damselfly because, when at rest, a dragonfly holds its wings wide open at right-angles to the body (a damselfly generally closes them lengthways down the back).
Pictures
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The common darter (Sympetrum striolatum) is one of our more common dragonflies. The dark brown colouration of this individual indicates that it is an 'over mature' female. Males have a red abdomen.
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The common darter (Sympetrum striolatum). This species occurs in a variety of water bodies including garden ponds. Like many other dragonflies, they may turn up in gardens which are a considerable distance from water.
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