Yellow-spotted Whiteface memories

Yellow-spotted Whiteface (Leucorrhinia pectoralis) is a nice, not so common little dragonfly that I am lucky to know some sites for. I saw at least a dozen on a real hotspot for dragons and damsels yesterday. I remember my very first that where shown to me by some visiting british bird watchers, Glyn Sellors and his humorous, lovely bunch of guys of which sadly at least 2 are not among us anymore. Thank you for all the good laughs Mike & Mike & Glynn!

Frejas Fritillary at last

On my third attempt I finally spotted my first two Frejas Fritillaries in the county of Västmanland. It flies in the same habitat as Pearl-bordered Fritillary here, but in comparison it´s slightly bigger and duller in coloration, both features visible in flight. Only when you get a proper look you can see the different pattern and the white X on the underwing. I´ve been trying many times through the years to see this butterfly here on it´s southern limit. It´s a northern species much more common on moors and heathland up in the mountains of Lapland. Although known from only a couple of sites, with very few records per year here, this year also revealed new sites which indicates it´s likely to be overlooked after all.

Eurasian Baskettail in Fläckebo

Yesterday when doing garden work, a larger Dragonfly passed by and caught my eye. I noticed the wings where very smokey brown and it puzzled me. Luckily it landed in the rough grass not far away. I  gently approached till I could get a proper view in my bins and what I saw made me stunned. It looked like a Eurasian Baskettail! (Ephiteca bimaculata) - a species I had only seen once ever before and just flying over a river, not landing to perch. So I did not get any pictures that time. Now this guy sat still right in front of me and remained for a couple of hours, probably very newly hatched. I called my friend and dragon-enthusiast Markus Rehnberg and asked if he´d ever seen one of these in the county? He replied "I have now"! He was just standing on another spot (by a different lake some 40 km away) where he could see several specimen, also sitting in the vegetation as if newly hatched. These creatures are know as notorious "flying-dragons", very difficult to see perched. On average 3,5 records have been reported annually the last 6 years in the county. Needless to say, I was very happy to see and photograph this great looking dragonfly. Today I saw several individuals by the lake, and flying over meadows. Clearly this species is overlooked and probably much more common than we know.

Irish Damselfly! Finally!

Crescent Bluet, a.k.a. Irish Damselfly (Coenagrion lunulatum) is one of few damselflies I have not (knowingly) seen before. Damsels have just started to fly here and last week when I was out butterflying on a bog, I photographed the only blue damsel I saw in that habitat. At a closer look on the computer I started to see characteristics known for C. lunulatum; green underside, green eyes, the wings covered segment 2 so I couldn´t see that, but the tail pattern looked good. Finally the blue spots on the top of the head where clearly separated. I consulted a few friends and experts who all confirmed my suspicion, indeed it was a Coenagrion lunulatum. My first ever and a species (although probably heavily overlooked) with just a handful of records reported in the county. Most other records from more deciduous areas with smaller wetlands. I did not expect to find it on a pine bog! It is however not unknown to appear in such habitats as well.