Dragonfly or damselfly?

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During my walk in the forest today I spotted quite a lot of damselflies and dragonflies.
I used to think that damselflies and dragonflies were the same species. They do have a lot in common.
They usually have a thin and long body, a double set of wings and quite big round eyes on top of their head.
But there are signs to tell if you're dealing with a damselfly or a dragonfly.

Here is a shot if a damselfly. A large red damselfly to be precise.
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Compared to the dragonflies damselflies have quit thin bodies. You and even sometimes see them with their back ends curled up. Damselflies are often a bit smaller then dragonflies.
But the easiest is to look at their wings when they are resting. Damselflies hold their wings alongside their body and dragonflies hold them sideways.

And this is a dragonfly.
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As you can see the body of the dragonfly is quite thick. This specific species; the
broad-bodied chaser has quite a short and broad abdomen. And it holds it wings sideways.

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The wings of both dragonflies and damselflies are really thin. I really like the structure if you photographed them up close.

Here is another dragonfly I spotted; a downy emerald (Cordulia aenea).

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I had never seen this species before, but I think it's a gorgeous one. It metallic green/bronze body is so shiny in the sunlight.

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Here is another macro shot from the same dragonfly.
It's a pity I couldn't get around the bush without scaring him (or her) a away. I really would have liked a close up from the head as well. But as I tried to manoeuvre to its front it flew away 😒
So we have to do it with this shot.

I hope you learned the difference between damselflies and dragonflies now (if you didn't know it already).


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FriendlyMoose

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11 comments
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These pictures are very beautiful and clean. I don't think I would still be able to differentiate them if I see both the damsel fly and dragon fly tomorrow.

They are beautiful on pictures but heck, I can't touch them

This post has been selected to be curated by lazy-panda of the Hive Learners Community.

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There are different types of these animals, but in cloud people they are all the same, the most important thing is that they are beautiful little creatures.
Good shot.😍

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nice shot haven't seen any dragonflies here yet guess i need to visit another place for that 😕

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This was the edge of de Veluwe near Apeldoorn. Quite a lot of them. I haven't seen many near the coast either.

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Beautiful shots! I find they are quite difficult to get close to before they fly off and circle around the garden again.

=^..^=

Posted using Proof of Brain

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Thanks!
It can be hard to capture pictures of them indeed. You do need to have some patience.
They do often go back to the same spot after circling around.
Unfortunately this last one didn't.

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