I found this two different damselflies one high noon. These are the few shots that I got after following them from one place to the next for more than an hour. It seems damselflies are a more feral than the dragonflies – maybe because they are slender and smaller? These two are about 40mm in length and they are so slim that most of the time it’s hard to find where they have flown next. We usually call them in Filipino as “tutubing karayom” (tutubi meaning dragonfly and karayom means needle.)
And here we thought they’re all dragonflies…
Though both of them belong to the order Odonata, there are clear differences between dragonflies and damselflies. Both have two pairs of wings, called forewings and hindwings. In damselflies, the wings are similar in size and shape, although the hindwings are a little shorter in some species. Dragonfly hindwings are broader and shaped differently from the forewings. A dragonfly rests with its wings outstretched, while a damselfly holds its wings above its back when perched. And both of them have large, prominent eyes. In damselflies, the eyes are at least one eye’s width apart. A dragonfly’s eyes are closer together, sometimes meeting in the middle.
- Dragonflies and Damselflies… (quiettraveler.wordpress.com)
- Odonata Hotspots (raxacollective.wordpress.com)
- know your dragonflies, part 2: the clubtails (rebeccainthewoods.wordpress.com)
- Winged Jewels (eyeonnature.wordpress.com)
- NATURE KNOWLEDGE: Dragonfly (sillyfrogsusan.wordpress.com)