American Rubyspot

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American Rubyspot

June 11, 2020 by Mike Powell

I was really excited to spot this male American Rubyspot damselfly (Hetaerina americana) on Monday while exploring in Fairfax County, Virginia with my good friend and fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford. I have seen this species only a few times before, but had no trouble identifying it, thanks to the distinctive “rubyspot” on its wings.

The first image gives you the best view of this gorgeous little damselfly, but the second shot is my favorite. I love to look straight into the eyes of dragonflies and damselflies—they have an almost hypnotic effect on me. Whenever I get the chance, I try to get a close-up shot of the eyes of these acrobatic insects that fascinate and delight me endlessly.

Posted in damselfly, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife | Tagged American Rubyspot, American Rubyspot damselfly, Canon 50D, Fairfax County Virginia, Hetaerina americana, Tamron 180mm | 20 Comments

20 Responses

on June 11, 2020 at 8:56 am | Reply kenneturner

I love the second photo closeup.
- on June 11, 2020 at 8:59 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, kenne. That is my favorite too. Normally I lead with my favorite shot, but WordPress does not handle shots in the portrait mode very well in the thumbnail in the Reader view, so I ended up deciding to lead with the overall shot.
on June 11, 2020 at 9:02 am | Reply Platypus Man

The second shot is great … looks like a sci-fi movie monster!
- on June 11, 2020 at 9:05 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I like to think of him as a friendly vice ferocious monster. 🙂
on June 11, 2020 at 11:23 am | Reply Reed Andariese

Wow! Great images Mike!
on June 11, 2020 at 2:05 pm | Reply Michael Scandling

Beautiful shots. Both of them.
- on June 11, 2020 at 2:16 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Michael. I was happy that the damselfly was cooperative enough that I was able to work the scene and get shots from several angles.
on June 11, 2020 at 3:05 pm | Reply Eliza Waters

The straight-on head shot is most charming!
- on June 12, 2020 at 6:59 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Eliza. It is definitely eye-catching. 🙂
on June 11, 2020 at 5:31 pm | Reply Birder's Journey

Stunning shots of this beauty, Mike! Such beautiful detail.
- on June 11, 2020 at 6:28 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. As you can probably tell, I really enjoy using my macro lens, which lets me capture so much of that wonderful beauty, assuming I can get close enough to the subject. Obviously this one let me get pretty close. 🙂
on June 11, 2020 at 6:03 pm | Reply Dan Antion

In that first photo, he looks so delicate.
on June 11, 2020 at 7:53 pm | Reply krikitarts

Wow, these are spectacular! The iridescent patches on the dorsal thorax remind me very much of the tiny feathers on the throat of the (of course!) ruby-throated hummingbird when viewed from certain angles. Case in point: https://krikitarts.wordpress.com/2015/05/22/bejeweled-beauty/
- on June 11, 2020 at 8:39 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Gary. I love the way the light and the angle can make colors come alive, as was the case with this beautiful little damselfly and your wonderful hummingbird shots. I suspect that is why they chose to call them both “ruby” rather than simply “red”–the color sparkles in the sunlight like a precious gemstone.
  - on June 12, 2020 at 5:38 am krikitarts
    
    Thanks, Mike, I’ve seen some works on how flowers look (in infrared, etc.) to insects, and wouldn’t it be fascinating to see how little folk such as this one appear to others with similar ophthalmic attiibutes?! I can well imagine someone doing a thesis on this concept.
  - on June 12, 2020 at 6:53 am Mike Powell
    
    Wow. My minds threatens to explode by the concept of seeing through the compound eyes of dragonflies or damselflies. I know that some scientific work has been done on dragonfly eyes, but I got bogged down in trying to understand the abstracts that I found. 🙂
on June 12, 2020 at 7:49 am | Reply Sherry Felix

A gem indeed.
on June 12, 2020 at 4:12 pm | Reply Steve Gingold

Nice ones, Mike. Great headshot and this is a spectacularly beautiful ode.
- on June 12, 2020 at 8:34 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Steve. There are so many beautiful odes that I am excited to see. A lot of folks give attention only to dragonflies, but I like to showcase damselflies too.
on June 24, 2020 at 8:57 am | Reply American Rubyspot damselfly (male) | walter sanford's photoblog

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