Beautiful Demoiselles on the Brampton Valley Way

The upper reaches of the Brampton Valley Way are fast flowing with gravelly bottoms, which is ideal habitat for the Beautiful Demoiselle. The bridge over the river at Hanging Houghton is a good spot to see them, as is any fairly open section of the river. Many areas can be shaded or overgrown, so you may have to look hard to find them. In some areas they co-exist with Banded Demoiselles, especially where the water pools. Today, I found several of both species along with Brown Hawker and Blue-tailed Damselfly. The Bandeds did not tolerate the Beautifuls at all, and they were far more aggressive with them than with fellow Bandeds.