Just the one type of Red Damsel so far, I'm afraid - this is the Large Red, which visits my garden.  These seemed to have a liking for human flesh, as we found that they would frequently perch on exposed skin while we were working on the pond extensions - or maybe they just wanted more space, and were trying to offer encouragement! 

Sorry, no enhanced picture available of this one.  But you can see those black legs quite clearly!

 

 

There are three colour forms of the Large Red female, all showing more black than this male.  This damselfly has a relatively short flight season, but is one of the earliest to emerge - sometimes as early as late April.

 

All photographs on this page  are of a male Large Red.  Here, he is shown on a flower seed head.  

 

 

 

The other variety is the Small Red Damselfly, which I have not yet seen.  The Small Red is obviously smaller, and the male has no black banding; both male and female have red legs, easily distinguishing them from the Large Red, provided that you are able to get close enough for such inspection!   The Small Red is restricted to Southern England and Wales, tending to flit over heath land and bogs with a weak, fluttery flight pattern.

Click on the flying dragon to return to the main Dragonfly page and index.