Country diary: A close-up view of a shimmering beauty | Sara Hudston

Bridport, Dorset: The female in my garden has been a glittering presence of late, but soon she will return to the river to breed

The https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/species/beautiful-demoiselle/">beautiful demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) is aptly named.

This loveliest of damselflies is on the wing now across south-west England and Wales, fluttering like a falling scrap of metallic paper among the vegetation.

One of only two species of damselfly with coloured wings, the males have blue bodies and dark-sheened wings while females are green with contrasting tan wings.

But such a plain description doesn’t begin to capture their true appearance.