A kind reader sent me these extraordinary photos taken from his garden. The first two are damselflies and the third is a dragonfly wing. The damselfly is different from the dragonfly because it can fold its wings to its side whereas the dragonfly keeps its wings at right-angles to its body. I think damselflies are natives but am not sure. Any experts on insects out there?
So with the wonderful weather, sunny and warm, flowers blooming, wildlife everywhere - maybe this can be the beginning of a 'Garden Wildlife' series. If you have photos of the wildlife in your garden, send them to me at catherine_onellion@hotmail.com I'd be happy to post them on the blog as part of this series.
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According to my reference there are three species of damsel-flies and 11 species of true dragon-flies in NZ. All undergo a prolonged larval stage as nymphs under water. The red damsel-fly (Xanthocnemis zealandica)is, apparently, very common. Maori name kihitara. The blue variety seems to be more common locally. JDH
Thanks for looking up that information, JDH. If they spend a while underwater in the larval stage but the water is too polluted it might impact survival. Yet another reason, albeit small, to keep our waterways clean. Thanks for commenting.
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