Captivated By Damselflies

 

Here is another species I encountered a few days ago.  It is a very beautiful damselfly with striking blue markings.  And it was simply such an attractive damselfly that all I did was stare at him for a while, just taking in the amazing beauty of it all.  I was captivated. 

The only thoughts running through my head was simply, "Wow!"  And then again, "Wow!"

This damselfly is the Prodasineura laidlawii of the family Protoneuridae.  Protoneuridae is a family of slender, delicate damselflies, with narrow, clean wings.  This family of damselfly is also commonly referred to as Threadtails or Threadtail Damselflies, as you can see why...

 

 

This male damselfly has a hindwing length of 19mm and a long, pin-thin abdomen with a length of 31mm.  The blue marking on its thorax is thin and it also has a blue band on its head.  Even the tip of his abdomen (S9-S10) is blue above.  The female has very similar markings to the male.

The Prodasineura laidlawii can be found on forest streams.

I also came across a tandem pair with the female ovipositing in the fast flowing stream. 

I stood there and hadn't dared move at all in case I would disturb them.  What registered in my mind at the time was the striking blue of the damselflies against the glittering gold reflections of the stream, which was quite a contrast! 

 

 

The male damselfly hovered above and maintained a hold on the female while she laid her eggs.  The purpose is to keep guard to ensure she can finish laying the eggs that have been fertilized with his sperms.  She was ovipositing into some submerged roots in the fast flowing stream.

 

 

The whole process took quite a few minutes, after which the male released his grip on her and went away to perch on the bank of the stream to rest.  Meantime, the female remained in the same position for a while before finally flying away to her own hiding place to rest.

 

 

Now you can understand why these dragonflies and damselflies intrigue me.  I am, perhaps, even a little obsessed with them.....

As I have said before, nature is just intoxicating.