Dragonfly on the wing is a delight near Droitwich river

The spectacular iridescent lime green and black dragonfly with pale blue eyes proved he was the lord of the dance as he flitted about by a Worcestershire river.

Fortunately, the aerial acrobat stopped for a rest by the River Salwarpe on Sunday so these photos could be taken before he headed off once more. 

The dragonfly on the wing was a delight to walkers near the Droitwich river who stopped to admire his vivid colours. 

STRIKING: The dragonfly near the River Salwarpe in Droitwich (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)

The photographer said: "I was quite surprised how close I was able to get to it. I've seen dragonflies before but have never been able to get this near before. It was so brightly coloured it looked almost jewel-like in the sunshine. It was a magical moment."

Wendy Carter, communications lead for the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, identified the insect as a male southern hawker dragonfly which are relatively common across the county and one of the species likely to be found breeding in garden ponds.

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Mrs Carter said: "Like other dragonflies they can often be found away from water bodies, especially along sunny woodland edges and paths, as they go in search of insects to eat. However, they’ll return to ponds to breed, females laying their eggs into vegetation in a pond.

WOW: The dragonfly has some stunning colours - this male southern hawker dragonfly is quite the showman (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)

"Summer is a great time to spot these beautiful aerial acrobats. Although a few species fly earlier in the year, some of our most impressive dragonflies are on the wing now. Look out for southern hawkers, emperors and migrant hawkers. Slightly smaller are the common darters that fly well into autumn and often return to the same perch to hunt from so you can usually get relatively close to them. Even smaller are damselflies like azure, common blue and blue-tailed."

More information which may help identify dragonflies is available on the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust website. People can also upload their own photos of Worcestershire’s dragons and damsels.

Worcestershire's dragonfly expert, Mike Averill, provides information on how to help you spot and identify 'some of the less active but colourful damselflies as well as the masters of flight tricks, the dragonflies'.