Check out these glistening gems—mating damselflies on a late spring afternoon.
It’s two pairs of Powdered Dancers, males clasping ovipositing females, a striped blue form female on the left and a brown form female on the right.A male Stream Bluet (Enallagma exsulans) perched on a grass stem in a vegetated buffer along a rehabilitated creek.A pair of Stream Bluets, male clasping female.A male Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata) looking for a mate.There she is, the shy female Ebony Jewelwing among the shelter of some streamside foliage.A male Variable Dancer (Argia fumipennis).A mating pair of Variable Dancers, male clasping female.Two mating pairs of Variable Dancers, males clasping ovipositing females.Two pairs of mating damselflies, Powdered Dancers (left) and Variable Dancers (right), with both females ovipositing.A male Double-striped Bluet (Enallagma basidens) showing his stuff.A female Fragile Forktail.Mating Powdered Dancers, male clasping female, and an ovipositing female Fragile Forktail.A pair of mating Orange Bluets (Enallagma signatum) in wheel position, male above and female below.
Aren’t they precious? You bet they are.
To see these and other damselflies, as well as their larger cousins the dragonflies, be certain to visit your favorite vegetated lake, pond, stream, or wetland on a sunny afternoon. You might be surprised by the variety of colorful species you can find.
And to help identify your sightings, don’t forget to visit our “Damselflies and Dragonflies” page by clicking the tab bearing that name at the top of this page.
