‘Two’s company, three’s a crowd’

The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins claims that the original proverb is from 1730s, and cites an English translation from The Spanish and English Dictionary by J. Stevens, printed in 1726 ...... Prov. Compañía de tres no vale res: 'A company consisting of three is worth nothing. It is the Spanish opinion who say that to keep a secret three are too many, and to be merry they are too few.’

John Collins provides a translation which resembles more closely the English proverb (1834)...... 
‘Three persons in company are too many for any secret affair, and two few for social enjoyment.’

Today the damselflies seemed completely indifferent, and were pressing on with their mating life. I expect anyone outside at the moment has spotted them flitting around their feet.

From Wiki:
‘The ‘Common blue’ is our most common damselfly and can be found around almost any waterbody, or away from breeding sites in grassland and woodland. It is a regular visitor to gardens and is on the wing from April to September. It is an aggressive species: males will defend their females as they lay their eggs, both from their own kind and other species. As with other damselflies, when Common Blues mate they form a 'mating wheel' in which the male clasps the female by the neck and she bends her body around to his reproductive organs.’