A Tiny Visitor

On one of the days when I thought I would be stuck 'indoors' with work and would not have the chance for any jaunts in the outdoors, I had a visitor instead.  I was tending to some potted plants in the morning when this tiny dragonfly came by and perched on a basil leave right next to me.

You can imagine my surprise!  This is like, "Wow!"
I have only just ventured into the world of dragonflies and damselflies and as yet, have not seen such a tiny dragonfly before.  Damselflies, yes.  But a dragonfly this small?  The basil leave gives you a good comparison for size!


I stared at him and he stared back at me!  He seemed totally unfazed by me being so close to him.  After having had a good look to commit it to memory in case he flies off, I ran in, grabbed my camera and was certainly glad he was still resting there now that I am ready for his poses.

It looks like he had just had a morning meal, maybe?  And there is some leftover grub on his white face?  Or maybe it is just some dirt?  Still, he looked totally grand!  Later, he did clean up and did some grooming...


This is an immature male of the Diplacodes trivialis.  The hindwing length of the Diplacodes trivialis is 23mm.  It is of the family Libellulidae and is common in tropical Asia.  The adult male is a pruinose blue while the immature male has pale yellow markings.  The female is similar in markings to the immature male. 
The only way to tell the difference in gender is by looking at the abdomen.  The male bears accessory genitalia on the underside of the second segment (S2) and from the last segment (S10) would emerge anal appendages that differ from the female.

I remained there for a while, fascinated by this unexpected visitor.  After some time, I went back to my own work giving him the chance to stare at me for a change.

Little things do make big impacts!  And this tiny dragonfly has certainly made my day!