The Ivory Featherleg Damselfly (Platycnemis dealbata) is an insect in the Platycnemididae family of dragonflies and damselflies. It is also known as the Needles Swallows Damselfly.
The Ivory Featherleg Damselfly has an elongated, cylindrical ivory-coloured body, enlarged white legs, a large head with large eyes, and a bulbous tail. The male’s abdomen is almost all-white. It has black markings down its abdomen. Its head had broad, pale-brown double antehumeral stripes. Its wings are long and translucent.
It grows to about 3 centimetres (1 inch) in length. Its wingspan is about 2 centimetres (about one inch).
It is common and abundant in south-west Asia, particularly in the Caucasus (Georgia and Turkey) and the Middle East. It prefers still or slow-moving freshwater ponds. It likes to perch among reeds, water lilies, and lotus flowers. It is seen from April to September.
When it rests, it does not spread its wings like other damselflies in the Lestidae family. Instead, it rests with its wings alongside its body.
It eats small insect larvae.
The female lays eggs on the underside of floating leaves in a body of water. The eggs hatch into larvae, which live amongs the bottom debris of a pond, and emerge about two years later as adult damselflies. As an adult, it usually stays near water.
Location of photographs: Tbilisi, Georgia
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM