Damselflies are similiar to dragonflies but are daintier. I used to think that they are the females. Compared to the dragonflies, their eyes are separate and thus appear more distinct.
I love the way this damsel held on to the edge of the leaf with the first and second pair of legs while the hind pair were thrusted against the leaf surface for anchorage.
“The amount of happiness that you have depends on the amount of freedom you have in your heart” - Thich Nhat Hanh
It then flew to another leaf for a different view of my garden.
Pseuderanthemum reticulatum.
Allamanda violiacea or A. blanchetii
A variation with dual tones of cream and red 'sunset'.
The leaves are hairy being covered with fine silvery-white hairs.
This variety of Allamanda has broader leaves compared to the dwarf variety. The blooms are bigger and the petals are thicker. Its colour is also deeper. The pink-white dainty flowers of Pseuderanthemum reticulatum are so teeny weeny compared to them.
The dwarf variety called Allamanda cathartica has small leaves which has a tendency to yellow and drop off prematurely, often leaving long bare canes on the lower parts.
Yellow flowers of Allamanda cathartica are towered above by the purple flowers of Allamanda violiacea. Note that the leaves are different.
When at rest the wings are held parallel to the abdomen. Besides the anorexic look, this is an easy way to distinguish them from dragonflies. The long slim abdomen must be the envy of many women.
Later it flew off to
settle on a leaf of Allamanda violiacea. Its jet-black body has a bluish sheen with stripes of white and dashes of purple on the head and thorax. And it has long, thick eyelashes to die for! The yellow background are the young leaves of Pseuderanthemum reticulatum.
Allamanda violiacea or A. blanchetii
A variation with dual tones of cream and red 'sunset'.
The leaves are hairy being covered with fine silvery-white hairs.
This variety of Allamanda has broader leaves compared to the dwarf variety. The blooms are bigger and the petals are thicker. Its colour is also deeper. The pink-white dainty flowers of Pseuderanthemum reticulatum are so teeny weeny compared to them.
The dwarf variety called Allamanda cathartica has small leaves which has a tendency to yellow and drop off prematurely, often leaving long bare canes on the lower parts.
Yellow flowers of Allamanda cathartica are towered above by the purple flowers of Allamanda violiacea. Note that the leaves are different.
A glass globe of yellow Allamandas (dwarf variety) and a smaller globe of pink Madagascar Periwinkles provided some much needed colour to my kitchen island top of 'black galaxy' granite.
Ważka jest śliczna. Nie widziałam takiej. Kwiaty pięknie wyglądają w szklanych kulach. Pozdrawiam.
ReplyDeleteDragonfly is pretty. I have not seen this. Flowers look beautiful in the glass spheres. Yours.
Hi Giga, thanks for the comments. Btw it is a damselfly and not a dragongly :)
DeleteLovely images of the damselfly. It's a beautiful creature. Allamanda grows so well here too, and is a popular plant in gardens. I love your idea of floating the flowerheads in a glass container. I will definitely have to do that myself.
ReplyDeleteHi Bernie, the damselfly is so tiny that I could only begin to appreciate it when I viewed the macro images. Usually I do not willfully harvest large amount of flowers for indoors. I'll only do this whenever I prune the plants and do not want the flowers to go to waste.
Deletehello stiletto..
ReplyDeletenow i can see the shape and patteron of a small dragonfly closely..thanks to u for the good photos...and the allamanda & pink madagascarmust have very good smell right.that's why u keep them in yr kitchen..
I must admit that I appreciate them better after looking at the details. Both the flowers have no fragrance at all. They are placed there solely as 'eye candy' since my kitchen island is large and of dark granite.
DeleteSuch a beautiful pictures! I love Alamanda!
ReplyDeleteANyway is the planty in my blog edible? ( refering to ur comment)...;)
Thanks Malar for nice comments. I have left a message in your post regarding this query. Many people claim that both are edible, so if you are adventurous, you can give it a try and live to me the story ;)
DeleteI like dainty damselflies. Elegance is expressed by its exquisite body and its pose at any moment. I’m always amazed with your sharp observant eyes. Filled with those beautiful flowers, no wonder your garden is a paradise for critters as well as for men.
ReplyDeleteYoko
Damselflies appear so delicate as be almost ethereal. In fact I almost did not take these photos as I wrongly thought that it won't be interesting. I was pleasantly amazed at the details when I viewed the magnified images. As regards my garden, sometimes it does take on the appearance of a tropical jungle! Its a wild world out there but the critters are somewhat happy and that's all that matters.
DeleteWonderful photos of the damselfly - so close up! Also, the close ups of the flowers in photos #6 and #7 show off the beautiful blending of colours, gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rosemary. I only begin to appreciate the damselfly after viewing it in the computer. It was so teeny weeny that all I can see with my naked eye was a thick filament flying around.
DeleteYou do have some of the most beautiful flowers, just lovely. I didn't realize there was such a distinct difference between the dragonflies and damselflies, I will have to pay closer attention and see if I can tell them apart.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos of the damselfly, amazing to see the colors.
They are so tiny that they can only be appreciated truly in enlarged images. Appreciate that you can see its beauty.
DeleteThe Allamanda blanchetii flowers are larger, longer-lasting and exotic. Their stems can also be trained into a thick trunk so its really worth while planting them. Since the goldfish went to fish heaven, the glass globe has been turned into a vessel for pruned off flowers. Glad you appreciate that.
ReplyDeleteExcellent photos! I love the peachy colors of the allamanda. What a wonderful mini-vacation your blog provides on a brown winters day here!
ReplyDeleteHi Tammy, I'm so glad that you were able to perceive from this post a whiff of colour and hints of summer to brighten up your cold winter.
DeleteThe damselfly is thin, elegant and have a nice color. Unfortunately they don't live here, in North. This flower allamanda is new for me, I love it, especially yellow one!
ReplyDeleteDamselflies can be found in North America but I'm not sure about Russia, particularly the very northern parts. I think Allamandas are more suited to tropical, subtropical or mediterranean climates.
DeleteThe damselfly is so beautiful, the structure of it is shown so beautifully in your photos,
ReplyDeleteThanks to macro photography, a lot of beautiful details have been revealed as the depth of vision of the naked eye is somewhat limited.
DeleteThe only Allamanda that grows very easily for me is the double yellow variety. The other ones die back a bit in winter. The white one didn't survive for me.
ReplyDeleteI particularly like the apricot-colored one you have
Its a pity the double-petaled variety is not available here. I've tried looking for it. The apricot-coloured variety is actually much larger than the yellow ones.
Deletewonderful floral post!
ReplyDeletexoxo, Juliana | PJ’ Happies :) | PJ’ Ecoproject
Thanks Juliana. Nice of you to drop by.
Delete