WID

portraits
The male appendages are pincer-shaped. The upper side of the broad pale buff thoracic stripe is straight and there are rocket-like dark brown markings on nearly all segments.	A female. This species has a tendency to sit with both sets of wings on the same side of the abdomen. This is a fascinating species with some very unusual characteristics.

a damsel for all seasons
Here, I'm referring to the winter damselfly, present in Europe but not in the UK (although there is a report of one in Britain in 2008). Presumably this is not because of our weather but maybe the presence of the English Channel. However, a strong southerly and who knows? Also, because of its brownish colour it would be easy to overlook. The first time I saw this species was in France in 2012. It wasn't too difficult to identify after thumbing a few pages but the next time I saw it, in Spain two years later, it took a while to give it an ID since it looked nothing like the one I had seen previously (compare the two pictures of a male to see what I mean). The more I read about the species the more unusual I think it is. For a start it is the only European species (apart from Siberian winter damsel, same family) that can over-winter (as an adult). Presumably it was first seen and labelled during the winter months but like a few other species in the animal world its name is a bit mis-leading. It could be seen at any time of the year. There are a couple of other characteristics that make this species a bit special. The male has pincer-like appendages (like other UK spreadwings), but at rest it likes to sit with both wings positioned on the same side of the abdomen. Presumably it has this habit for a reason but I haven't seen one documented. The dark wing-spots have a strange feature: those on the fore-wings lie nearer to the wing-tips than those on the hind-wings. Now I come back to my Spanish sighting. It seems that this species can have a pale blue spot on the top of its eyes together with a dark abdomen. I've read that this colouration is usually seen in the spring but maybe it can occur at any time of the year. The specimen shown below was seen in Castilla-La Mancha, central Spain in July, well into the Spanish summer. I hope I see a few more.

a damsel for all seasons

Here, I'm referring to the winter damselfly, present in Europe but not in the UK (although there is a report of one in Britain in 2008). Presumably this is not because of our weather but maybe the presence of the English Channel. However, a strong southerly and who knows? Also, because of its brownish colour it would be easy to overlook.

The first time I saw this species was in France in 2012. It wasn't too difficult to identify after thumbing a few pages but the next time I saw it, in Spain two years later, it took a while to give it an ID since it looked nothing like the one I had seen previously (compare the two pictures of a male to see what I mean).

The more I read about the species the more unusual I think it is. For a start it is the only European species (apart from Siberian winter damsel, same family) that can over-winter (as an adult). Presumably it was first seen and labelled during the winter months but like a few other species in the animal world its name is a bit mis-leading. It could be seen at any time of the year.

There are a couple of other characteristics that make this species a bit special. The male has pincer-like appendages (like other UK spreadwings), but at rest it likes to sit with both wings positioned on the same side of the abdomen. Presumably it has this habit for a reason but I haven't seen one documented.

The dark wing-spots have a strange feature: those on the fore-wings lie nearer to the wing-tips than those on the hind-wings.

Now I come back to my Spanish sighting. It seems that this species can have a pale blue spot on the top of its eyes together with a dark abdomen. I've read that this colouration is usually seen in the spring but maybe it can occur at any time of the year. The specimen shown below was seen in Castilla-La Mancha, central Spain in July, well into the Spanish summer.

I hope I see a few more.