Two things really struck me when I first encountered this damselfly—its captivating blue eyes and its extraordinarily long abdomen.
Most damselfly fold in their wings when they are at rest, but damselflies of the Lestidae family keep them open and are commonly known as spreadwings. Only two members of this family are on the species list for my marshland park—the Swamp and the Slender Spreadwing—and this looks to me like might be a male Slender Spreadwing damselfly (Lestes rectangularis).
I would welcome a correction or confirmation of my identification, because I feel almost clueless when it comes to identifying damselflies.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 