The main difference is that dragonflies hold their wings open at 90 degrees to their body when resting whereas damselflies hold their wings parallel to their body. On the whole, damselflies are much smaller than dragonflies. Dragonflies have huge eyes which occupy most of their globular head whilst damselflies have much smaller eyes which are positioned at each end of their oblong head. The flight of a damselfly is a relatively weak fluttering type compared to a dragonfly’s.
Picture by Keith Redhead