Home
 
Odonata
Dragonflies
 
Damsel Field Guide
Dragon Field Guide
 
PETALURIDAE
Coastal Petaltail
 
TELEPHEBIIDAE
Unicorn Darner
Coastal Evening Darner
 
AESHNIDAE
Blue-spotted Hawker
Australian Emperor
Australian Duskhawker 
 
LINDENIIDAE
Australian Tiger
 
GOMPHIDAE
Pale Hunter
Twin Spot Hunter
  
SYNTHEMISTIDAE               
Yellow-tipped Tigertail
Royal Tigertail 
 
HEMICORDULIIDAE
Australian Emerald
Fat-bellied Emerald
Tau Emerald 
 
LIBELLULIDAE
Common Archtail
Black-headed Skimmer
Blue Skimmer
Fiery Skimmer
Slender Skimmer
Palemouth Shorttail
Scarlet Percher 
Wandering Percher
Black Faced Percher 
Red Arrow
Red Swamp Dragon 
Graphic Flutterer
Yellow-striped Flutterer
Red Baron
Short-tailed Duskdarter
Water Prince
Common Glider
 
More About Dragonfly
Dragonfly Head
Damselfly Wings
Habitats
Life Cycle
Mating and Reproduction
 
Wallpaper
Guest book

                                               

Sapphire Rockmaster Damselfly - Diphlebia coerulescens 

FAMILY Diphlebiidae

This page contains information and pictures about Sapphire Rockmaster Damselflies that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
 
Male, body length 50mm, male
 
Sapphire Rockmasters are large damselflies with thick body. They rest with wings spread, much look like dragonflies. They likes to perch on the vegetations about a meter over the running water. When we went near them, they flied away while we were still two meters away. They flied to a higher position and keep watching at us. They returned to the same spot after we went away.
 
RockMa2.jpg (23020 bytes) 
 
The Rockmaster Damselflies have black head, black striped bright blue colour thorax, blue ringed black abdomen and blue light tail. Their anal appendages are black in colour. Their wings are dark brown with clear wings base.
 
wpeA.jpg (70721 bytes) wpeC.jpg (39229 bytes) wpeE.jpg (16462 bytes)
 
Our Australian Dragonfly Society Secretary, Ric Nattrass told us that we can easily find the Rockmasters on Northbrook Creek near Lake Wivenhoe. We went there on 2002 summer and found those beautiful animal. 
 

 
DSC_9020.jpg (825586 bytes) DSC_9022.jpg (571580 bytes) DSC_9032.jpg (570522 bytes)
 
On Nov 2010 we visit the Northbrook Creek again at the Red Cedar section. We found a lot of the Rockmasters flying around. 
 
DSC_9033.jpg (498959 bytes) DSC_9035.jpg (531778 bytes) DSC_9035f.jpg (504297 bytes)
 
We  also found a female, which is relatively rarer than the male. Females are brownish-yellow in colour with black patterns, which are quite different from the males.
 
DSC_9048.jpg (535469 bytes) DSC_9042.jpg (531160 bytes) DSC_9044.jpg (614374 bytes)
 
The male in above photos has the slightly smoked wings. They will become much darker when matured, like those on the above of this page. We did found some dark-winged matured males that day but could not take their photos. They seems more alerted than the young damselflies. 
 
P1030381.jpg (884317 bytes) P1030378.jpg (792304 bytes) DSC_9053.jpg (494827 bytes) 
 
Northbrook Creek is a rapid flowing small river with rock and sand base. The water is crystal clear.. 
 

Reference:
1. The Australian Dragonflies - CSIRO, Watson, Theisinger & Abbey,1991, p170.
2. A Field Guide to Dragonflies of South East Queensland - Ric Nattrass, 2006, p42.
3. The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia - CSIRO, Günther Theischinger and John Hawking, 2006, p18. 

Back to Top
 
 
                                                

See us in our Home page. Download large pictures in our Wallpaper web page. Give us comments in our Blog, or send email to us. A great way to support us is to buy the CD from us.  
Last updated: November 27, 2010.