An Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly perched on a leaf with a potential Mayfly snack on the underside.
A few minutes before I had watched another one of these damselflies chase a Mayfly. They both exhibited serious flying skills and that time the Mayfly prevailed. Here, I wondered if the damselfly knew the Mayfly was there.
Francis Beidler Forest, SC
April 7, 2023
An Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly, perhaps recently emerged based on the translucence of the wings.
Unfortunately his head isn’t in sharp focus, but the wings and shadow are interesting.
Francis Beidler Forest, SC
April 7, 2023
If you wait long enough an Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly will open and close its wings.
Their outsized heads tend to make nice shadows in the right light.
Wings closed is their most common position when I have seen them.
They do chose some interesting leaves to land on, including this poison ivy.
Francis Beidler Forest, SC
March 31, 2023
The dark wings of the Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly make great shadows when they land in a patch of sun.
An interesting leaf is a bonus.
Even without the shadow they are pretty neat looking.
Francis Beidler Forest, SC
July 9, 2022
I’m not much on snakes–I do photograph them on occasion but don’t often post them. This one was sunning just off the boardwalk; Ted had identified him as poisonous.
Unfortunately I didn’t see the Damselfly until looking at the pictures on my computer.
If I had, we’d be looking at a closeup of the insect on those interesting scales…
instead of just a blip of blue on the snake.
Francis Beidler Forest, SC
July 9, 2022
I was on a boardwalk over a swamp when this Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly perched on a leaf.
I was hoping for a view of the metallic blue-green color they are known for.
I never got that angle, but the wing opening and closing series was pretty interesting.
May 20, 2021
The Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly is a stunning insect. I’ve taken poor photographs of them each of the last three years at Beidler Forest and finally this year captured one at eye level and another in a spot of sun.
Access to this area is only from a boardwalk so there is not much you can do to change your angle.
The second one stayed put on this leaf, opening and closing his wings for a few seconds, creating a nice shadow on the leaf.
