Even from a distance it’s hard to miss the bright lapis blue eyes of a male Great Spreadwing damselfly (Archilestes grandis). Unlike many damselflies, which are tiny, this species, as its name suggests, is a big damselfly, about 2 to 2 1/2 inches in length (50-62mm). According to Bugguide.net, though, the bright yellow”racing” stripe, which occurs on both males and females, is the most easily seen distinguishing identification feature for this species.
I had never even heard of this beauty until the 11th of October, when fellow dragonfly hunter Walter Sanford blogged about his discovery of one at Huntley Meadows Park on the 9th of October. I had no idea if this was the only member of the species at the park or how long it would hang around and didn’t hold much hope of seeing one of these damselflies myself.
I was shocked and pleased on the 20th of October when I spotted Walter and this damselfly. Walter graciously ceded to me the prime spot for taking a close-up shot. A week later I returned to the same location and the Great Spreadwing was gone.
In past years I didn’t pay much attention to the timing and location of various dragonflies and damselflies—they were either present or they weren’t. This summer and fall, however, I’ve been learning how important the specific habitat and the time of year are for certain species and the window of opportunity to observe them opens and closes pretty quickly.
Consequently, I consider myself very fortunate that I was able to capture this little portrait of the Great Spreadwing damselfly.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Those eyes are amazing!
Stunning capture, Mike!
Thanks, Amy. These dragonflies are amazing to see.
wow, those are some gorgeous blue eyes! I love the colors in this shot.
Thanks, Sue. I couldn’t believe how big the damselfly was and the eyes are spectacular. This species was not even yet on the species list for our park, so that was a nice bonus too (though my friend Walter was the one to spot it first).
I have several pictures of a solo damselfly and a couple with two damselflies where one has his/her tail end hooked in the neck of the other. I’ve been trying to figure out what they are and you photo has me pretty convinced they are Great Spreadwing damselflies.
I am not an expert in identifying damselflies and many species look similar. The ones that you saw that were interlocked were probably mating–they do so in a peculiar and acrobatic way.
I’m not ready to declare what I have as Great Spreadwing damselflies but now I at least have a name I can look up and compare multiple pictures with mine. Before the closest thing I could find was a Vietnamese damselfly.
Amazing eyes!!
Love those eyes
The eyes are simply captivating–the blue is almost unreal.