A Lovely Little Damsel

It's time for me to get small again. After yesterday's bit of insanity, I'm back to the normal world. But it seems the normal world has been a bit on the buggy side for me lately, and today is no exception. That's why I'm featuring these pictures of this Damselfly I was lucky enough to get recently.

I've been specifically watching for bugs on my recent hikes because they are some of nature's sometimes unappreciated creatures. Besides, I've been seeing so many of them. It seems only right that I get as many pictures of these small animals as I can while I have the chance.

These may be my most excellent bug photos yet. I'm very proud of them. As with all of my pictures, you can click on them to see them at full size. You may use them for your own personal use, as long as you don't alter them in any way. These aren't the original photos, but the originals are sometimes available upon request. Requested photos will possibly be made available as Free Wallpaper at Nature Center Magazine.

When I was taking the pictures of this lovely little damselfly, I noticed that it was looking right back at me a lot of the time. It can be kind of disturbing to have an insect turning its gaze on you, but it's also very interesting when they do it. And I guess they are probably disturbed when they see a human so focused on them as well.

Oh, a small bit of info on these little creatures. Many people get Damselflies confused with Dragonflies, which can be quite understandable. They really do look similar. I'll give you the easiest way to tell the difference. When they land, a dragonfly holds its wings out from its body, to make the shape of a little cross. A damselfly holds its wings in the same direction as its body. You can see in the picture that the wings run parallel along the back end of this damselfly. Pretty easy, huh?

Notice how I even got some pictures from the other side of this little beauty? It's still looking at me too. This damselfly was very interested in these leaves that it kept landing on, and it was willing to risk my presence to stay on them. I got to walk all the way around this cool critter while it kept coming back.

The last thing I want to bring to your attention about creatures like this is the cool metallic look they have. I always thought it makes them look like something robotic from a science fiction movie when you see them up close. Wouldn't it be something if there was a little man in there flying this creature?


Check out Nature Center Magazine today for a bit of interesting nature news.