Today we have the second and final installment of damselflies from evolutionist John Avise. What will John send next? Stay tuned.
His IDs and captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
Damselflies in North America, Part 2
This week’s post concludes my photos of the Damselflies, which are in the Order Odonata and can be thought of as svelte relatives of the Dragonflies. I also show the state where I took each photo.
Rambur’s Forktail, Ischnura ramburii, mature female (Florida):
Rambur’s Forktail, young female (Florida):
River Jewelwing, Calopteryx aeguabilis, female (Michigan):
Spreadwing, Lestes sp. (Michigan):
Spreadwing, Lestes sp., mating pair (Michigan):
Tule Bluet, Enallagma carunculatum, male (California):
Tule Bluet, female (California):
Vivid Dancer, Argia vivida, male (California):
Vivid Dancer, female (California):
Western Forktail, Ischnura perparva, male (California):
Western Forktail, female (California):
Thanks, John. Amazing photos. Until your series, I did not know about damselflies.
Ahhhh, perfect
Jewelwing is a great name for that one
I can almost hear the scenes …
Yesterday my wife came running in from the garden to show me a picture of a damselfly she had taken. One damselfly in an entire lifetime. Thank you for your many fantastic pictures! The male Vivid Dancer is spectacular!
Thanks John – big fan of your work.
I love the colored insects. I always enjoy those boards with insects impaled on them in museums. The colors fade a bit – which I never knew. Your pics show them in the wild which is cool.
D.A.
NYC
The details on these are just wonderful, like the green thorax and blue abdomen tip on the Western Forktail. Now I wonder how many species of blue damselflies I’ve seen and not realized they were different!
Such absolute marvels of evolution…
This has been a great run, sure hope it continues. Thanks, John!
These are beautiful! Thank you.
Very nice! Damselflies are tricky for me. Generally a bit too small for the long lens, and averse to close-up photography with the macro.
Ooh, that lilac Spreadwing!
These amaze me. Their colors are so incredibly vivid and their bodies so delicate. Super photos. Thank you, again.