Yesterday I posted images of Eastern Amberwings, one of the most easily identified dragonfly species in my area. Today I am going to continue the mini-trend of going easy on my identification skills by presenting our most easily identified damselfly species, the Ebony Jewelwing damselfly (Calopteryx maculata).
I spotted this beautiful female Ebony Jewelwing last week as I was exploring in Occoquan Regional Park. Ebony Jewelwings are found most often along wooded slow-moving streams and frequently perch on low shrubbery in sun-lit openings in the forest canopy, which pretty well describes the circumstances of my encounter with this little beauty.
How do I know that it is an Ebony Jewelwing? There is no other damselfly in our area that has completely dark wings like the Ebony Jewelwing. How can I be sure that it is a female? Females have a conspicuous little white patch on their wings, technically known as a “pseudostigma,” that is pretty obvious in the photo below.
Some recent postings have noted the difficulties in making a correct identification of the dragonflies and damselflies that I photograph. I enjoy a mystery from time to time, but there is something reassuring about spotting a familiar species and being able to identify it immediately.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I am always happy to find these and often they can be hard to get a clean shot as they don’t sit still for long. This is a nice one, Mike.
That has been my experience too, Steve. They flutter about a lot and perch only briefly. This one was slightly more cooperative than average. 🙂
She is beautiful, Mike!
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Thanks, Mitzy.
I’ve seen these cruising around my local little trout stream in Minnesota, but I find the river jewelwing (Calopteryx aequabilis) rather more frequently. I love seeing both!
I don’t think that we have the River Jewelwing in our area–it appears to be more of a northern species, according to a range map that I checked.
Beautiful image Mike! Can’t wait to see more images!