We found this magnificent male gold-ringed dragonfly Cordulegaster boltonii beside the river Derwent near Blanchland in Northumberland last week.
This was an unusually cooperative insect, allowing me to get very close. I suspect that it had only recently emerged from its nymphal stage. It flew briefly, then settled down again to sunbathe.
The female gold-ringed dragonfly has the longest body of any British dragonfly species; males are a little shorter and have a slightly clubbed tail, but are nevertheless spectacular insects.
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