Mike Powell

Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes dragonflies and damselflies. During the warmer months of the year I spend a lot of time hunting for dragonflies, the larger members of this group of magical creatures, but I also enjoy searching for damselflies, their smaller and more fragile “cousins.”

Damselflies, like dragonflies, come in a variety of colors and shapes. Here is a sampling of images of damselflies that I captured this past Thursday during visits to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge and Occoquan Regional Park, both of which are located within 15 miles (24 km) of my house.

The first photo shows a Orange Bluet (Enallagma signatum). I am always amused by the name of this species, because it seems incongruous to have an orange-colored member of a genus called American Bluets. Most male bluets are, in fact, blue, but others are orange, scarlet, and burgundy and there is even a “Rainbow Bluet.”

The second image shows a male Azure Bluet (Enallagma aspersum), whose colors are closer to my mental image of a bluet. Most bluets are some combination of blue and black and it can be tricky trying to determine specific species by examining the color patterns on the body and in the eyes.

The third shot is of a male Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita), one of the first damselflies to emerge each spring. Fragile Forktails are really tiny (about an inch (25 mm) in length, but are relatively easy to identify by their broken shoulder stripe that looks like an exclamation point.

In the final photo I was eye-to-eye with the damselfly so his abdomen is almost completely out of focus. Nonetheless enough details are visible for me to say this is almost certainly a male Eastern Forktail damselfly (Ischnura verticalis).

I like to try to vary my approach to capturing images of most subjects, including damselflies, as you can see in this little collection of photos. Sometimes, as in the first shot, I will try to isolate the subject from its background in order to focus the viewer’s complete attention on the subject. Recently, though, I have developed a preference for including more of the habitat in my shots, as in the second image, in order to give the viewer a sense of the environment in which I took the shot. When possible, I like to attempt to capture some “artsy” shots, like the final image, by using selective focus and choosing carefully my angle of view.

No matter what approach I choose with damselflies, I have to be careful not to fall into the water, where most of these dragonflies were perching. I am not always successful in keeping my feet dry.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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