Yesterday I wandered by the spot where I witnessed Mating Damselflies, On Iris last April. The previous two nights had been below freezing so I was a bit surprised that there were a dozen or so tiny damselflies zipping around the edge of the pond.
It was breezy and my angle wasn’t great but I did capture this mating pair.
And this single, resting on a leaf.
Unknown species, small — maybe 1 1/2 inches long (3 to 4 cm)
Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
March 14, 2022
I was surpriced to see these damselflies so early, certainly after a freezing night. It is so difficult to determinate damselflies so I’m not going to give a name 🙂
That was my thought on the ID, Rudi. I didn’t get that crisp an image of the tail end, which might help another time, with the book in hand.
Congratulations, Ellen. I went out searching this week for some early damselflies, but came up empty handed–it is still too early for us. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say the mating pair might be Eastern Forktails, though I must admit that I am not very good at identifying damselflies.
Thanks, Mike! I was back there again yesterday and it was even windier. I was able to photograph one, but it’s pretty non-descript, likely a female. The “big book” has quite a few damselflies in this general color scheme, a better image of the tail might help although I’m not sure I’m going to learn these. I’ll be happy to be back on track IDing the dragonflies 😄
Female damselflies are tough to identify even with really clear shots. With males, there are often clearly identifiable differences, while with females, the differences tend to be much more subtle. For me, timing is important, because there are certain species here that appear earlier in the spring than other, which helps a little with identification. For example, the first damselfly I see each year is almost always a Fragile Forktail.
Good info, Mike, especially the reminder on the timing, thanks. I started a paper log last year of when and where I saw some of the dragonflies. I need to get that to the top of the pile!
I don’t know if you have an equivalent website in your area, but the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia has a flight calendar that shows when various dragonfly species appear and disappear. (http://dragonfliesnva.com/My%20Documents/KevinPDF/pdf/identify/FlightTimeCalendar-NEW.pdf)
That’s a great reference for your area, Mike! I hadn’t found anything similar and just searched again and found a pamphlet that combines NC, SC and Georgia, from QuickReference Publishing. Am*zon has it, so I may get it.