Ischnura aurora
''Ischnura aurora'', the gossamer damselfy or golden dartlet and also known as the aurora bluetail, is a species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae.
Adults
A small apple green damselfly with black thoracic stripes and blue tipped yell ...
'', distributed from
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
Pacific Islands
Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...
. There are strong differences in DNA between the Asian forms of the species and specimens from the Pacific. There is also some morphological differences; dorsal side of segment 8 and 9 are entirely blue in Asian forms compared to only 1/3 of length of segment 8 is blue in specimens from the Pacific. The form found in Indian subcontinent and Iran is ''Ischnura aurora rubilio'' Selys, 1876 and is now considered as a good species, ''Ischnura rubilio''.
Description and habitat
It is a small apple green damselfly with black thoracic stripes, black capped olive green eyes, and blue tipped yellow tail. Its thorax is bronzed black color on dorsal side with narrow olive green antehumeral stripes. The lateral sides of the thorax is also pale olive green. The wing spots are different in fore and hind-wings. It is rose-red for its proximal half and transparent for the distal. Its abdomen is rusty-yellow, except for segments 8 to 10, which are azure blue. There is a large diamond-shaped spot on apical end of the dorsum side of segment 6. Segment 7 is broadly bronzed black on the dorsum. Segments 8 to 10 entirely azure blue. There is a broad black dorsal spot in segment 10. Anal appendages are pale brown, tipped with black. Female is more robust and less conspicuously marked than the male. Its abdomen is marked with a broad black dorsal stripe extending the whole length. The sides of the abdomen is yellowish red.
It breeds in weedy ponds, lakes and marshes.