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Living in the midst of the Norfolk Broads I’m very fortunate to have easy access to some of East Anglia’s most wonderful fens and marshes.  Even more fortunate is that my house overlooks a water meadow which provides a wealth of insects many of which I’m able to see first-hand.  One of the most beautiful is the dragonfly and the damselfly.

Both dragonflies and damselflies belong to the insect order Odonata which means toothed jaw.  It sounds pretty gruesome but it just means that their mouthparts are serrated.  Although they’re both known as ‘dragonflies’, the dragonfly and the damselfly are quite different.

Dragonflies are of the sub-order Anisoptera which means unequal winged.  This name has come about as the back wings tend to be of a different length and breadth than the front.  Dragonflies tend to be larger than damselflies, have large eyes that normally touch each other, and they are strong flyers that can often be seen a fair way away from water.  When they come to rest they have their wings pointing outwards from their bodies.

Damselflies on the other hand are from the sub-order Zygoptera which means ‘yoke winged’.  All four wings are practically of equal size and shape and the insects themselves tend to be smaller.  Their eyes are always separated, they’re weaker flyers than dragonflies and stay close to the water.  When they rest then tend to hold their wings along their bodies.

Both dragons and damsels are good insects to have around though when, like me, you’re living close to the water as they eat other flying insects and are particularly partial to midges and mosquitoes which is a major bonus!