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
Two years ago fellow blogger and dragonfly enthusiast Mike Powell (https://michaelqpowell.com/) identified a similar sighting of mine as “probably a juvenile female Great Blue Skimmer.”
I’m not much further along identifying dragonflies than I was then, especially females and juveniles.
I do like to photograph them even if I don’t know what they are, and liked the three different background options this one gave me.
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 30, 2023
We’ve had some nights below freezing recently, and the day I took these didn’t get much above the mid 50s (10 C)Â so I was surprised to see any dragonfly.
I spent some time with my “Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East” book and searching online. I did not even come up with Blue Corporal as a possibility.
The ID was provided by Odonata of the Eastern United States Facebook group, with one very confident ID as a Juvenile male Blue Corporal Dragonfly, with several assents.
Audubon Center at Beidler Forest, Harleyville, SC
March 19, 2023
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 5, 2023
I had actually seen a pair of damselflies a week or so ago but couldn’t get any usable images.
I saw two of these at the edge of a small pond that was mostly in the shade except for a few blades of a reed where one stopped to eat his prey.
I don’t know the ID, they were quite small, maybe an inch or inch and a half ( 2.5 – 4 cm).
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
February 23, 2023
Here’s another view of the bold Gulf Fritillary I featured yesterday.
In contrast, this one was tattered and faded.
That’s quite a chunk missing out of his forewing, and the hind wings have some damage, too. But he could still fly.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
November 26, 2022
As the morning warmed up I could smell the honeysuckle as I walked along the dike and pretty soon several butterflies appeared.
This Gulf Fritillary was a very bold orange, and in pristine shape like he had just hatched.
Several Skippers were intent on feeding from the underside of the leaves, this one popped out for just a moment.
This last butterfly looks like a Sulpher Butterfly, but was much smaller, about this size of a dime (Diameter 0.750 in. ~ 19.05 mm) . Research turns up it is likely a Little Yellow.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
November 26, 2022
A number of butterflies, including this Long-tailed Skipper, were working a row of wildflowers at the edge of field at Botany Bay WMA. I do not know this flower, and spot metering on the insect left that bright white blown out.
Botany Bay Wildlife Management Area, SC
October 14, 2022
The color of the pokeweed berries and stems were a nice contrast to this grasshopper.
The spiny structures on his back leg look like they mean business.
This last shot was taken with the Canon 100mm macro lens. I couldn’t get the angle I wanted with the available footing and the grasshopper never moved, so it is nearly the same image as above.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
October 24, 2022
