When I'm lucky enough to see these damselflies
swooping and darting about like animated jewels,
it always stops me in my tracks.
The colors are incredible.
Dazzling.
I don't know much about insects,
so I did a little poking around online to find an ID for you.
It seems this is Calopteryx maculata or "ebony jewelwing."
I think "ebony-winged jewel" would better suit.
When they are in flight, their bodies glisten, green and blue,
while the wings are a black blur.
I am not fast enough to get a picture of a damselfly in flight,
but here is a glimpse of the wing/body color combination
during take-off:
Dragonflies, like this lovely visitor from last September,
tend to keep their wings open when they land:
Damselflies generally fold their wings when they are at rest:
But they don't seem to "rest" for very long!
For every image of a damselfly, I took two of a leaf or rock where a damselfly had been resting a nanosecond earlier.
I feel very lucky to have these images to share :)
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