Rare damselfly spotted in Kulathupuzha

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A team of butterfly enthusiasts from the city spotted a rare and threatened damselfly in the forests of Kulathupuzha as part of their monthly monitoring of butterflies and dragonflies. The team sighted the sapphire blue damselfly last week. An Azure blue and black damselfly with vermilion marks on the forehead and thorax, the damselfly is called Myristica sapphire. It was found in the Myristica swamps that are so typical of the forests of Kulathupuzha. Damselflies are similar to dragonflies, but the adults can be distinguished by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, and parallel to, the body when at rest. Damselflies are also usually smaller than dragonflies and weaker fliers in comparison. Furthermore, the hind-wing of the damselfly is essentially similar to the fore-wing, while the hind-wing of the dragonfly broadens near the base. The team of bird and butterfly enthusiasts who recorded the sighting included C Susanth, M S Akhil, Arya Meher and Neha Waikar. This damselfly has not been sighted for the last 8 more years from this region, said the team.  A striking sapphire coloured damselfly associated with Myristica swamps of the southern Western Ghats, the flight season of this damselfly is from May to November. This damselfly is active after the summer showers and seen up to November.  Though this rare and threatened damselfly is endemic to the Western Ghats, its presence is alarmingly low in southern Western Ghats. They are seen in patches in the Myristica swamps of Coorg, Thamarassery (Kozikode) and Kulathupuzha (Kollam). The female lays eggs in water, sometimes in underwater vegetation and the fly has an aquatic nymph stage. After moulting several times, the winged adult emerges and eats flies, mosquitoes, and other small insects. Some of the larger tropical species are known to feed on spiders, hovering near the web and plucking the spider from its nest.  A very shy damselfly, it is very difficult to watch and follow. The Myristica swamps of Kulathupuzha reserve forests and Shendurney wildlife sanctuary are the habitat of some rare, threatened and endemic dragonflies and damselflies of the Western Ghats.