It is thought Variable Damselfly is declining in some areas of Britain due to loss of habitat. To assist with research into its habitat requirements and the associated plant species it uses for egg laying the British Dragonfly Society is looking for help from photographers.

To enter, please post photographs on the British Dragonflies and Damselflies Facebook group showing Variable Damselfly egg laying into various plants species.

To qualify, each photograph must include the Location name and the date when it was taken. We also need either the 6 figure grid reference or the ///What.three.words from your mobile phone app. Whichever is easier for you. 

Optional information on the numbers you see and the plant species, if known, is useful to add to the posting. Do not worry if you cannot identify the plants. Photographs can be of single egg laying pairs or groups of tandem pairs.

Variable Damselfly is on the wing from late April through to July, so get out soon and take photographs with your camera or mobile phone.

As long as the posted photograph meets the requirements outlined above it will be allocated a code based on the location and date and judged for the cash prize by 15th September 2025. The lucky winner will be announced and published in the monthly eNews Hawker, on our website and on the above Facebook group. We will ask the photographer’s permission to use the photograph for these purposes.

To help you meet the challenge we recommend that you take a look at the species section for Variable Damselfly on our  website.

You can also view a map of the species’ distribution across England, Scotland and Wales and find the nearest locations to you.

All the records for Variable Damselfly can also be viewed at NBN Atlas

Coenagrion pulchellum : Variable Damselfly | NBN Atlas

No photographs will be used for any other publications without permission.