South Western Billabong Damselfly: Austroagrion cyane

South Western Billabong Fly, Male

South Western Billabong Fly, Male 

South Western Billabong Fly, Female

South Western Billabong Fly, Female

South Western Billabong Fly, Male and Female Mating
Bluer one on the right is male, the left paler fly is female

Location: Big Swamp Wildlife Park, Bunbury, Western Australia

Season: Summer, January

Order: Odonata 

Suborder: Zygoptera 

Family: Coenagrionidae 

Subfamily: Coenagrioninae 

Genus: Austroagrion
Austroagrion cyane

This is a very tiny damselfly, about 3 cms and very thin and needle-like. It is relatively easy to spot the males as the bright blue colour stands out when they perch on plants. They are often seen fighting for a perching spot. They live close to waters, near the shallows. I have rarely seen them fly over water. 

The males are bright blue in colour. The females are paler and  have blue rings on the tip of the abdomen. The couple above were mating high up on a tree. They were staying still for a long time, rarely moving. They stayed in the wheel position for a long time (throughout my 20 mins skype convo plus atleast 10 mins to get a good photo!).

I think this damselfly is South Western Billabong Fly. It is considerably smaller than Wandering Ringtail, with no ring at the tip of the abdomen. I don't think it is a Blue River Damsel because the blue eyes of this damselfly has a black bar, not spots as described for Blue River Damsel. Esperance Fauna Blog has beautiful pictures and description of South Western Billabong Fly which confirmed my identification.

References: Esperance Fauna, Wiki, Brisbane Insects