I spotted this damselfly on 2 September at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Initially I thought it was a male Big Bluet damselfly (Enallagma durum), based on its size and markings, but the colors seemed wrong—all of male Big Bluets that I had previously seen were blue.
In situations like this when my identification is uncertain, I normally post an image on one of several Facebook forums devoted to dragonflies and damselflies. Several experts on one of those forums determined that this is in fact a Big Bluet, but it is an immature one—as it matures it will turn blue.
I am always learning new things as I take photos. Sometimes it is about camera settings and techniques, but more often it is about the subjects that I photograph, like this immature Big Bluet damselfly.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I love the near perfect alignment.
Thanks, Dan. That alignment and the elongated shape of the damselfly were the primary reasons I chose to shoot the image in portrait format rather than landscape and present the image as almost a vertical panorama.
That is so cool, isn’t it? I, too am always learning something new. Last year I attended a dragonfly talk and the speaker told us that in some species the female will turn color when she has mated! Wow!
That is fascinating to hear. There is so much new to learn, which is why I am always reluctant to claim to be an “expert” in anything, no matter how much experience I may have.
Same here.
Wow, not much to focus on is there 😳😳. Great shot.
Thanks, Ted. When I was shooting this damselfly, kept switching between manual focus and auto focus, because I was handholding and the slightest unsteadiness was enough for me to throw off the auto focus. I don’t know for sure if this particular one was shot with auto focus or manual focus, but suspect that it was the latter.
Great pose. And my hat’s off to you on focus.
Fantastic photo, Mike. I really like the alignment of the damselfly to the plant. I liked hearing how you identify, too. Birding is similar — the immatures always add an element of complication that keeps us on our toes.
So pretty!
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Teneral damselflies can be confusing, soon after emergence it’s often difficult to tell the species. Nice shot Mike.
Oh to be immature again. He looks like a school pencil.
You make me laugh, Damien. “Immaturity” is often a state of mind and not just one of development. The long thin body of the damselfly does resemble a pencil–at one point in my life I was built like that. When I was 15 years old, I was 5 ft 10 inches tall and weighed only 115 pounds. My sister used to tell me that I had no butt, so keeping my pants up always required a belt. 🙂
The setting is lovely! So many straight lines and all so interesting!
There is always something new to be learned, especially with insects. So much variation but so much similarity that we can easily be confused.hs one could easily be missed against a brown stem.
As is often the case, I watched this damselfly fly to that location and that is the main reason why I was able to spot it. Sometimes I can pick out dragonflies and damselflies when they are perched, but generally I require movement to acquire them visually.