The Large Red Damselfly has a synchronized emergence and is usually the first species to be recorded each year. It can be seen from mid April to early September. Males have a deep red coloration with a black and red-striped thorax and red abdomen. The thorax can also be yellow or yellow-striped on the underside. Both sexes have red eyes, duller in females, and the female has more black on the abdomen. This damselfly breeds in a very broad range of habitats from static water to slow-moving streams and rivers and even upland bog pools. It has a large distribution throughout the British Isles.

Vice County distribution of Large Red Damselfly up to 1990

(Data supplied by Biological Records Centre)

Female Large Red Damselfly eating an Alder Fly (Click to enlarge)

Male Large Red Damselfly - mature red coloration