Damselfly by Leeco

Photography • Insects • posted on Aug 15, 2008

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Description

Nikon 7900 pocket camera. MrsLubner is leading the pack on figuring out what my "mystery theme of the week" is. She is definitely on the right track, lol. Todays critter is magical, even for a damselfly, lol. I only see them along the edge of the several creeks that are on my property. They flit from sunny spot to sunny spot among the shadows and although they perch a lot, they never stay perched for long. It took me countless attempts to get a decent pic of one because of the strong contrasts between sunlight and shadow and the slow focal response of my pocket camera. I have since managed to get a few more. This is a male. The female has a white spot on the tip of her wings and is more uniform in color. They are the largest (by far) of any damselfly I am familiar with. The magical part of them occurs when they flit out of a shadow and perch in a spot of sunlight. The brilliant iridescent colors that suddenly appear are quite dramatic, lol. Kingdom Animalia (Animals) Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) Class Insecta (Insects) Order Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies) Suborder Zygoptera (Damselflies) Family Calopterygidae (Broad-winged Damselflies) Genus Calopteryx Species maculata (Ebony Jewelwing) Body length 37-57 mm Their wings are broader - relative to their length - than in the pond damselflies (Coenagrionidae) or spreadwings (Lestidae). They are found in the eastern two-thirds of US and the eastern half of Canada. Both nymphs and adults prey on small insects and other arthropods. Not a strong flier: adults flutter, butterfly-like, a short distance when disturbed. Thanks to those who take the time to comment. Lee

Comments (17)

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SSoffia

12:48AM | Fri, 15 August 2008

EXCELLENT CAPTURE & COLORS !!!!!

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TIMMYLYNN

12:54AM | Fri, 15 August 2008

awesome. my favourite insects!!! peace and love

vlaaitje

1:13AM | Fri, 15 August 2008

such a lovely one...they have beautiful wings.....I am hunting for this one as well....never got one....so hopefully I can make a shot like this one

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phothomaniac

1:18AM | Fri, 15 August 2008

Here in Switzerland we have a very similar damselfly with banded wings (Calopteryx splendens). It's animal of the year 2008. Tried to get a good shot of it but failed. As i saw it from far the first time i thought it was a kind of a butterfly because of the uncommon fly-behavior. Thanks for sharing this great shot!

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flora-crassella

1:22AM | Fri, 15 August 2008

...Libellen mit so bunten Augen habe ich noch nie gesehen - bei uns haben sie gestreifte. Ein wunderbare Aufnahme - wie alle Deine Macros! Sorry - but my transletor is "ill" ......

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durleybeachbum

1:53AM | Fri, 15 August 2008

Is it that they all have the name of another thing that isn't a fly? I've got a little box of damselfly wings collected from the river path. They were all ripped off by swallows as they feed on the wing.

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kasalin

2:29AM | Fri, 15 August 2008

Outstanding macro capture !!! Very beautiful work !!! :)

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GiMi53

2:44AM | Fri, 15 August 2008

Well, at least there is "fly" in the title of your five uploads... So, indeed "insects_that_looks like_but_aren't_flies" or "insects_with_fly_eyes" ? I just love the fuss that you've created this week with your special series, Lee ! It's really nice to see the interactions between the members... About this damselfly,I've never seen a species with such broad wings ! And it's fantastic that you always manage to identify your digital capture. The last years, you really enhanced my awareness for the beauty of insects and I'd like to thank you for that, as well as for your friendship !

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kaward

4:55AM | Fri, 15 August 2008

A beautiful damsel indeed, great macro. I noticed the work of the leaf cutter bees behind him too!

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CavalierLady

9:49AM | Fri, 15 August 2008

Outstanding capture, especially after reading your narrative of how hard they are to catch. Excellent lighting and details of color on this damselfy!

MrsLubner

1:22PM | Fri, 15 August 2008

I printed out "spec" sheets on all of this week's posts and one for the common housefly as the control subject. I compaired information on each. Other than mention on a few that they are not considered true flies, I tend to get confused. Some only eat nectar, some eat "meat." Some are toxic and other not. Some lay eggs on other creatures, some in dirt and some in water. Some have 4 functioning wings, others have 2 with a stinted set of "rudder" wings. Body styles vary. There is some idication that all have a lineage that goes back to the dinasaur age in some similar form. I only saw one reference made in the common housefly to feet with secretions that allow walking upside down, but that omission in the other profiles could just have been the style of writing as each one had a different author. The one thing I can say for certain with no arguements anywhere, they all have extremely large eyes placed in such a location that wearing a sombrero would be impossible. Love this macro!!!

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JeffG7BRJ

1:52PM | Fri, 15 August 2008

I'm going for the eyes this time Lee, is it that they all have wrap round eyes? I have only seen one Damselfly this year so far, and only managed to capture the tail end of it. This is a spectacular one, with wonderful colour tones to it, that blue is super. Excellent macro. Bravo!!!!!

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