Every now and then, I stop railing against the uselessness of most common names and revel in the better ones.
This a tropical rockmaster (Diphlebia euphoeoides). It lives in the tropics and it perches on rocks. Also branches, cars and hats. But mostly rocks.
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| On a twig-shaped rock |
Tropical rockmasters are the most abundant damselflies on this property. On sunny days, it seems as if every vantage point is occupied by one of these blue males or golden females waiting for insects to come within range.
There are five species of Diphlebia in eastern Australia and they are distinguished by the relative proportions of blue and black on the abdomen on the male.
CSIRO publishes an excellent guide to Australian odonates.
