A few weeks ago there was an explosion of common blue damselflies around the ponds and meadows. They will have come from eggs laid in the water the year before which hatch into larvae which live underwater until fully grown. Once adults the larvae climb out of the water onto stems and shed their skins to become the beautiful fairy-like damselflies.
The males have double blue segments on the ends of their long bodies, the females tend do be brown, green or blue. The damselflies hover and dart about looking for a partner to mate with.
Here is a red damselfly photographed by my friend Anne in her garden.
I used to get confused between damselflies and dragonflies but the way to tell them apart is that dragonflies have bulkier bodies and wings that stay spread outwards when stationary. Also dragonfly eyes are much closer together on the tops of their heads.
Other miraculous transformations are taking place around the ponds. Tadpoles are mutating into tiny frogs. They seem to be everywhere on the paths and I must have trod on some. Here is one photographed on a leaf.
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 