Throughout the cooler months, only the black damselflies (like the one in the first picture) were seen resting on my plants. But now that the rains are here they are here in all colours and on most plants!
Damselflies are insects in the order Odanata. They are similar to dragonflies but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, or parallel to the body, at rest. The hindwing of the damselfly is essentially similar to the forewing, while the hindwing of the dragonfly broadens near the base. Damselflies are also usually smaller than dragonflies, and weaker fliers in comparison, and their eyes are separated. (Wiki).
I found this mating pair on my potted fern. They are not the easiest creatures to photograph...too tiny for really good captures. They could well be the Pigmy dartlets although I'm not too sure. But I'm posting the pictures anyway. At least you can see the kind of colours they come in. Sometimes I see them gorging on mosquitoes and small spiders. I even have them landing on my hand as I go about my pruning and my weeding. It's a joy to see them ...may their numbers increase!
