Ebony Jewelwing in May

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Ebony Jewelwing in May

May 21, 2017 by Mike Powell

In addition to dragonflies, damselflies are now appearing in greater numbers, like this beautiful little Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata) that I spotted on Friday at Huntley Meadows Park. Identification is pretty easy, because it is the only dark-winged species in our area. The red eyes suggest that it is newly emerged—the eyes will change to a less demonic color later—and the lack of white markings on the wings indicate it is a male. Click on the image if you want to see some of the details of the damselfly at higher resolution, like the tiny hairs on its legs.

Posted in damselfly, Dragonflies, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Calopteryx maculata, Canon 50D, Ebony Jewelwing, Ebony Jewelwing damselfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm | 6 Comments

6 Responses

on May 21, 2017 at 8:09 am | Reply shoreacres

This just jumped to the top of my Favorite Damselflies list. What a beauty — and what a fine photo.
- on May 21, 2017 at 8:12 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. The look of this damselfly is very distinctive and its metallic colored body sparkles in the sunlight–definitely jewel-like.
on May 21, 2017 at 8:12 am | Reply Mjollnir MacAlba

Great detail on the shot Mike and a lovely creature 🙂
on May 21, 2017 at 12:10 pm | Reply Laura (PA Pict)

Fantastic composition.
on May 21, 2017 at 3:43 pm | Reply Pete Hillman

This is fabulous, Mike! The colouring is amazing!
- on May 22, 2017 at 8:25 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Pete. These damselflies are always a treat to see in the sunlight, where they literally sparkle.