Great Spreadwing damselfly (male)

Feeds:: Posts; Comments

Great Spreadwing damselfly (male)

October 12, 2015 by Mike Powell

I just love the beautiful blue eyes and distinctive markings of the male Great Spreadwing damselfly (Archilestes grandis) and I was thrilled when I spotted one on Saturday at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia.

I wonder if it damages this little guy’s self-esteem to be called a “damsel?” Perhaps he looks with envy at his odonate brethren with the more macho-sounding “dragon” in their names. Do we need a more gender-neutral name for damselflies?

Posted in Art, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits | Tagged Alexandria VA, Archilestes grandis, Canon 50D, Great Spreadwing, Great Spreadwing damselfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens | 7 Comments

7 Responses

on October 12, 2015 at 6:02 am | Reply luckykaye

hehe…he’s a bit delicate to be a blokey. Maybe ‘guyfly’!! 😉
- on October 12, 2015 at 6:09 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Guyfly? I love it!!
on October 12, 2015 at 7:39 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

That color blue is really beautiful. What big eyes!
on October 12, 2015 at 8:39 pm | Reply Sue

Crisp focus, wonderful shot, Mike!
- on October 13, 2015 at 3:59 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Sue. With my macro lens and a relatively cooperative subject, the results can occasionally be amazing.
on October 14, 2015 at 1:40 pm | Reply Charlie@Seattle Trekker

The detail is really amazing, your posts are always so enjoyable to read and follow.
on July 18, 2020 at 6:55 am | Reply Blue-tipped Dancer damselfly | Mike Powell

[…] Like most damselflies, Blue-tipped Dancers are tiny, no more than 1.5 inches (38 mm) in length, so it is always a challenge to get detailed shots of them. The largest damselflies that I have ever photographed were the appropriately named Great Spreadwings, that are as much as 2.4 inches (61 mm) in length. If you want to see what one of those beautiful “giants” looks like, check out this posting from October 2015 entitled “Great Spreadwing damselfly (male).” […]