Last week I spotted this female Big Bluet damselfly (Enallagma durum) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, one of the few damselflies still around this late in the season. Big Bluets are primarily a coastal species in our area, which helped me to narrow down the possibilities when trying to identify the damselfly species. Generally female damselflies are tougher to identify than males, but I pretty confident that this one is a Big Bluet.
UPDATE: A sharp-eyed viewer pointed out to me that this is probably an immature male Big Bluet, not a female, based on a number of specific physical features. I think he’s right! It is not the first time that I have misidentified a damselfly and it almost certainly will not be the last time.
I love the way that the light green in the background matches the color of the damselfly’s body and makes for a really pleasing image.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Leave a comment