A little green silence, resting where the water never does….
The insect in this photograph is a Stream Glory damselfly (Neurobasis chinensis), recognisable by its metallic green body and dark, iridescent wings.
- Classification: Order Odonata; suborder Zygoptera; family Calopterygidae.
- Habitat: Flowing freshwater streams and rivers with surrounding vegetation. The species occurs across parts of South and Southeast Asia, including India’s Western Ghats.
- Remarkable wings: Males have iridescent green hindwings used in courtship and territorial displays. Microscopic structures in the wings interact with light, making their colours shift with the viewing angle.
- Diet: Adults hunt small flying insects, while their aquatic larvae prey on small freshwater organisms.
- Life cycle: They develop through egg, aquatic larva and winged adult stages, without a pupal stage. Much of their early life unfolds underwater.
- Ecological role: As both predators and prey, damselflies connect aquatic and terrestrial food webs.
