Damselflies and folklore!

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Damselflies found in my garden and on local walks June 2025. 



I found this interesting article online about the folklore of Damselflies which I will be looking more deeply into. 

Folklore

Dragonflies hold a dark and unfair reputation in European folklore; in Norway, they are referred to as Eye Pokers, and in Portugal, Eye Snatchers. Several English vernacular names for dragonflies misleadingly allude to them having powerful stings, with Horse Stinger and Devil’s Darning Needle among the most alarming. They are often associated with snakes, as demonstrated by their Welsh name, Gwas y Neidr, or Servant of the Snake. Such serpentine superstitions even span the Atlantic Ocean, where in North America, the Dakota people claim dragonflies to be witches’ familiars and the Pueblo and Zuni People believe Dragonflies to follow snakes beneath the Earth to heal them. 

For the full article please visit 

https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/llanelli/news/gwas-y-neidr-servant-of-the-snake



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