A damselfly is similar to a dragonfly. Some differences are that a dragonfly is typically about three times the size of a damsel fly. Another notable difference is that a dragonfly keeps its wings out away from its body, whereas the damselfly pulls them in towards its tail when resting. Both fore and hind wings are similar.
The males are often more brightly coloured than the females. With their segmented body, the mating pair form a shape known as a "heart", the male clasping the female at the back of the head, the female curling her abdomen down. Damselfly young (called nymphs) live in the water and moult repeatedly, until climbing out to undergo metamorphosis and develop winged flight.
Damselflies are predators: adults actively hunt and eat other insects. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. The so-called helicopter damselflies (Pseudostigmatidae) are much larger, with wingspans of up to 7.5 inches.
Scientists state they have now found 95 percent of all fossils on Earth, so this species is another example of a "missing link". Simpler forms do not appear in the fossil record.
Evolutionists currently date them from similar looking fossil impressions as having appeared 250 mya (Mesozoic layer). But molecular analysis in 2013 has proven that science has misinterpreted their ancestry.
Damselfly origins and location in the so-called "tree of life" simply cannot be explained at this time (2022)
[see Wikipedia]. Dragonfly-like creatures appear suddenly, looking very similar to today, and after 250,000,000 years have failed to improve or evolve from the original (much as hundreds of other creatures, sharks being one example). Significantly, there are no sensible explainations for their quite unusal method of reproduction, which seems impossible to evolve through natural selection (a small step at a time as Darwin theorized). These unique and very complex creatures apparently arrived on Earth fully designed by miracle.
[Ref: The_Mesozoic_non_calopterygoid_Zygoptera.pdf]
for Further reading (2012 paper)
Things to Observe:
The top of the head bears three small eyes (ocelli), which may measure light intensity, and a pair of antennae.
The head and body have fine hair sensors, possibly for windspeed detection. The long tail is segmented and is bendable, which is essential to their mating process.
