The Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) is an insect in the Coenagrionidae family of dragonflies and damselflies. It is also known as the Common Bluet or the Northern Bluet.
The Common Blue Damselfly has a long, thin, cylindrical beige to cream body with a light-blue head and a light-blue bulbous tail. Its wings are long and translucent. The male is blue with black markings, and the female can be varied in colour.
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What do dragonfly eyes look like?
The dragonfly has a large head with three small simple eyes and two extremely large compound eyes that meet in the centre.
Compound eyes have thousands of ommatidia – tiny, independent photoreceptors that have a cornea, lens and light-sensing cells.
Compound eyes can’t see very well, but they can see all around them and they can sense movement, especially fast movement.
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The Globe Skimmer Dragonfly (Pantala flavescens) is an insect in the Libellulidae family of dragonflies. It is also known as the Globe Wanderer or the Wandering Glider.
The Globe Skimmer has a long, cylindrical body, two pairs of translucent wings, and a head with large eyes. The adult male has a reddish-yellow abdomen and the female has a yellow abdomen. It has a yellowish head. Its legs are black.
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The Pygmy Damselfly (Nehalennia speciosa) is an insect in the Coenagrionidae family of dragonflies and damselflies. It is also called the Sedgling Damselfly.
The Pygmy Damselfly is a small species with a long, thin, cylindrical beige to cream body with a light-blue head and a light-blue bulbous tail. Its wings are long and translucent.
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The Common Darter Dragonfly (Sympetrum striolatum) is an insect in the Libellulidae family of dragonflies.
The Common Darter Dragonfly has a long, cylindrical body, two pairs of wings with black tips, and a head with large eyes. Its legs are black with a cream or yellow stripe. The male turns red as it ages. The female looks different from the male, because she has a light-yellow thorax and abdomen, which turns dark-brown with age.
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The Common Winter Damselfly (Sympecma fusca) is an insect in the Lestidae family of slender damselflies. It is similar to the dragonfly. It is related to the Emerald Damselfly.
The Common Winter Damselfly is distinct from other damselflies because it does not havea metallic green colour that is common in the Lestidae family, nor is it bright blue or red. It is pale brown. Its body is long and cyclindrical. The adult male often changes the colour of his eyes from brown to blue in winter, but the female lacks the blue colour.
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What is a group of dragonflies or damselflies called?
A group of dragonflies is called a flight of dragonflies, a cluster of dragonflies, or a population of dragonflies.
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The Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa) is an insect in the Lestidae family of slender damselflies. It is also known as the Common Spreadwing. It is similar to the dragonfly.
The Emerald Damselfly has a metallic green colour. Its body is long and cyclindrical. The adult male has a powder blue colour on the prothorax and near its tail. The adult male also has large blue eyes. The female lacks the blue colour.
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Are Mayflies only seen in May?
No, Mayflies are not only seen in May. The belief that Mayflies are only seen in May is not true—it is a fallacy.
The Common Mayfly (Ephemera danica) is seen in the Northern Hemisphere in May and June. Elsewhere in the world, mayflies are seen in other months.
The Mayfly is an insect in the Palaeoptera family of dragonflies and damselflies. It lives all over the world, near freshwater rivers, ponds, and lakes.
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The Scarlet Skimmer Dragonfly (Crocothemis servilia) is an insect in the Libellulidae family of dragonflies. It is also known as the Ruddy Marsh Skimmer.
The Scarlet Skimmer Dragonfly has a long red abdomen and transparent wings. Its eyes are blood-red. The female has an olive-brown body. It has a small dark patch at the base of its hindwings (back wings).
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The Scarlet Dragonfly (Crocothemis erythraea) is an insect in the Libellulidae family of dragonflies. It is also known as the Broad Scarlet or the Common Scarlet-Darter.
The Scarlet Dragonfly has a long, flattened abdomen. The adult male has a bright scarlet-red abdomen, red-veined wings, and small amber-gold patches at the base of its hindwings (back wings). The female has a yellow-brown abdomen and a pale stripe on the top of its thorax (chest).
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The wings of dragonflies are generally clear, apart from the dark veins and the pterostigmata – the small black marks at the top of the wings.
A dragonfly has two pairs of wings attached to its thorax. The wings are long, veined, and membranous, narrower at the tip and wider at the base. Females have shorter and broader wings than males.
The Common Picture Wing Dragonfly (Rhyothemis variagata) is also known as the Variegated Flutterer. It is an insect in the Libellulidae family.
The Common Picture Wing has four transparent and yellow wings with black markings. Its abdomen and head are dark-coloured with a green sheen. The female has more yellow on her hind-wings than the male. The male has no yellow colouring on his fore-wings.
The Banded Demoiselle Damselfly (Calopteryx splendens) is an insect in the Calopterygidae family of damselflies.
The Banded Demoiselle has an iridescent dark blue-green body with greenish tinted, translucent wings. Each of its four wings has a wide brown band. Females have a metallic green or bronze body with greenish tinted wings, without the brown bands. The last three body segments are white, and are referred to as the ‘white rear light.’
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The Red-Veined Dropwing Dragonfly (Trithemis arteriosa) is a common insect in the Libellulidae family, found in most of Africa, western Asia, and southern Europe.
The Red-Veined Dropwing Dragonfly has a black-tipped bright red abdomen and head, with a purple sheen. Its eyes are deep red. It has red veins in its transparent wings with orange markings at the base of the wings. Females have similar markings, but its abdomen and face are yellow to yellowish brown.
What’s the difference between a Damselfly and a Dragonfly?
Both a damselfly (order Odonata, sub-order Zygoptera) and a dragonfly (order Odonata, sub-order Epiprocta) are insects.
A damselfly keeps its wings folded when it is resting, along or above the abdomen.
A dragonfly holds its wings flat, away from the body, when it is resting.
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The Julia Skimmer (Orthetrum julia) is a common African dragonfly. It is from the Libellulidae family – the chasers and skimmers. It is an insect.
The Julia Skimmer has a pale blue body with a long abdomen. The male has marbled iridescent green compound eyes.
The Banded Groundling (Brachythemis leucosticte) is a dragonfly. It is an insect. It is from the Libellulidae family – the chasers and skimmers.
The Banded Groundling has transparent lace-like wings with a distinct brown-black band on the forewings and hindwings. It has a small creamy-yellow spot on the top edge of each wing. Its body is grey-black. It has a large head with large, multi-faceted compound eyes.
The Eastern Swamp Emerald Dragonfly (Procordulia jacksoniensis) is an Australian dragonfly found in eastern and southern Australia. It is in the Corduliidae family – emerald skimmers.
The Eastern Swamp Emerald Dragonfly is a small to medium-sized black and orange-yellow dragonfly with a thick, flattened tail.
Photographer: Martina Nicolls