Red And Blue Damsel: Xanthagrion erythroneurum

Red and Blue Damsel perching

Red and Blue Damselfy couple. The brighter one is the male, paler is the female.

Location: Big Swamp Wildlife Park, Bunbury, Western Australia
Season: Summer, January

Order: Odonata 

Suborder: Zygoptera 

Superfamily: Coenagrionoidea

Family: Coenagrionidae 

Genus: Xanthagrion 

Xanthagrion erythroneurum

I found these in the Big Swamp Wildlife reserve in Bunbury, where they are abundant this time of the year. They stay at the edge of the shallow waters, occasionally flying over the water. They perch on to the vegetation and easily disturbed by other damselflies and dragonflies. The mating couple fly low over the water, resting on twigs floating on the water surface. 

They are extremely tiny, about 5 cms and extremely thin, almost invisible to the naked eye! The males have bright red head and thorax, dark abdomen and blue bands on the tip on the abdomen. The females are paler, the head is pale red and the blue tip is not easily visible. 

Sources: Wiki, Esperance Fauna