I found these four wings on the bank of the river Teign at Fingle Bridge last week. Who is the killer?
These are the wings of the beautiful demoiselle damselfly.
As you can see the wings have been plucked from the body and presumably the body has been eaten by a predator. I have been thinking and speculating about who might be responsible. I have found the dismembered wings of moths piled up in a place where long-eared bats feed – so perhaps a bat feeding along the Teign is responsible? Maybe but bats tend to be nocturnal and damselflies are day flying. There is some overlap around dusk so a bat is a possibility.
Hobbies (the small falcon) also preys on dragonflies and damselflies (along with swallows and martins) and there are certainly hobbies in the vicinity.
I also wonder whether this is the work of a flycatcher – either a pied or a spotted.
I guess we will never know. In case you are wondering the wings are removed as they are not very nutritious compared to the main body.
Here is a picture of a complete beautiful demoiselle taken last summer
