Red Dameselfly

Xanthocnemis zealandica

I was out in the garden this morning, looking for something interesting to take for my blip photo today, when this Red Dameselfly flew in front of me and landed on this long blade of grass. At first I thought it was a Dragonfly, but searching for more information on google this morning, I found out that in fact it is a Red Dameselfly. You can tell a damselfly from a dragonfly thanks to the way they hold their wings - damselflies fold them up over their body when they land while dragonflies hold them open.

The red damselfly is the most common damselfly found in a New Zealand. It is a native found through out New Zealand. They are expert hunters - adults take small insects on the wing and their nymphs are pretty impressive aquatic predators.

We had a lovely clear sky this morning when the Solar eclipse happened. It was interesting to see the eclipse through our welders helmet - and to feel the change in air temperature when the moon covered the sun.