This damselfly is so tiny that you could easily have missed it if you don't keep an eye out for these little creatures. And though it looks rather colourful close-up, it can also quite easily blend into its surroundings just as well with its colours. This damselfly that I found has a rather pretty pastel yellow thorax, green compound eyes and an orangey-reddish abdomen. The abdomen would be rather red in mature males.
This damselfly is the Ceriagrion auranticum of the family Coenagrionidae. According to the Pocket Guide, the male has hindwing length of 17mm and it is widespread in mainland tropical Asia.
I have only seen this species of damselflies on two separate occasions in all these months and so far only one single individual each time. That's how infrequent the sightings can be for some of these species though it is listed as widespread in the Pocket Guide. So you can imagine it is quite a pleasant surprise to stumble upon them once in a while.
I must admit I have not been out looking for dragonflies for a while. Lately, it has been so hot that after a day's work out kayaking in the sun, all I want to do after that is to rest in my cool, shady nest at home. But I think I will be needing another dose of dazzling dragonflies and damselflies again one of these days to put a smile on my face...
Updated 20 Jan 2010:
Ian has kindly pointed out that the adult Ceriagrion chaoi has red eyes while the C. auranticum has green eyes. So, there you go..... the mature C. chaoi has yellow thorax, red abdomen and red eyes while the C. auranticum has green thorax, orange abdomen and green eyes... And what have I got here? Green eyes, yellow abdomen and yellowish-orangey abdomen. How confusing can these creatures be?
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