There is a whole family of damselflies called bluets that all look similar and the pattern of the males is generally some combination of black and blue (though there is one family member called an Orange Blue, which sure sounds like an oxymoron to me). On Saturday as I was exploring Pohick Creek in Springfield, Virginia, I came across two damselflies in tandem position that looked to be bluets. I suspect that they had just mated and were getting ready to deposit the eggs.
I managed to get a decent angle for a shot that allowed most of their bodies to be in focus and figured that identification would be simple. I was wrong. I went back and forth over a series of images and drawings in two guidebooks before deciding that they were probably Stream Bluets (Enallagma exsulans). The habitat was right and the markings seemed to be almost right, but I waffled for a long time.
Am I correct in my identification? I’m still not really confident, but so far one person has agreed with me in a Facebook group in which I posted the photo. The creative side of me, though, is really happy with the image, irrespective of the correctness of my identification.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Well Mike I can’t help you with identification, but I like your composition, the light, colour and sharpness of your image. 😊
Fabulous composition. There’s such detail in these delicate wee creatures.
Thanks, Laura. The way that I managed to frame the shot let me highlight those wonderful details, which are a lot tougher to see when the background is cluttered.
I’m not sure about yours, but the post was very helpful for me. I finally figured out that the blue dragonfly I photographed recently actually is a damselfly — and a bluet at that. I’m pretty sure mine is a Cherokee dancer. All of them are so delicate and beautiful. Do the damselfly people allow the same thing flower people sometimes do — put the genus and then “spp.” in case the specific species isn’t known?
Your question is a little too technical for me to answer about how to properly record scientific names–I’m more of a photographer than a scientist. I totally agree about all damselflies being beautiful and delicate–it’s why I am so attracted to them and to their dragonfly brothers.
Awesome capture Mike