I... ADORE... this newcomer to my woods! It is my new favorite, and I have never seen an Ebony Jewelwing before, other than in a photo. I first happened upon the female, and a couple of days later I saw the male on an early morning walk. I 've seen the male twice now. The very sight of both stopped me in my tracks. The body parts are a bright emerald green, but depending on the light source, can appear metallic blue. The female appears more brown and although my I.d. book doesn't mention that coloring, my female is an exact match to the their female pictured.
Now, this pair was obviously very easy to I.D....so I did my homework on these two. They are Broad-winged damselflies, and only two of the five North American members of this genus reside in Northeast Ohio. One being the Ebony Jewelwing... and the other is a River Jewelwing, which is considered rare and endangered. My Ebony Jewelwings may not be rare...but they are so striking to me. I love the black wings. The first two photos are the female, and we met mid-day. She was quite friendly and after many shots, all of a sudden she flew fast to my camera lens and then my finger...then resumed her position! I can read your mind...that wasn't anger...just go along with me, okay?! Seriously though, it is kind of neat to see a tiny creature curious and it gave me a good laugh, too.
How handsome is he? These two photos are the male. The first time I saw him it was early morning, I had just took a quick walk around the pond. We still have a rather large size rock garden in place where our original waterfalls were located. All of the original bushes, and perennial plants are still there, but this Jewelwing was gliding in and out of the very large Japanese Willow bushes before resting high in the Japanese Willow tree. No worthy photo opportunities that day.
The second time I saw the male (assuming they are one in the same), it was a bright and breezy early evening. I wish the shots were sharper. He was hanging around on some Hosta and Daylily leaves. The male and female are both something else to see, but the coloring on the male really stands out in the sun.
I... ADORE... this newcomer to my woods! It is my new favorite, and I have never seen an Ebony Jewelwing before, other than in a photo. I first happened upon the female, and a couple of days later I saw the male on an early morning walk. I 've seen the male twice now. The very sight of both stopped me in my tracks. The body parts are a bright emerald green, but depending on the light source, can appear metallic blue. The female appears more brown and although my I.d. book doesn't mention that coloring, my female is an exact match to the their female pictured.
Now, this pair was obviously very easy to I.D....so I did my homework on these two. They are Broad-winged damselflies, and only two of the five North American members of this genus reside in Northeast Ohio. One being the Ebony Jewelwing... and the other is a River Jewelwing, which is considered rare and endangered. My Ebony Jewelwings may not be rare...but they are so striking to me. I love the black wings. The first two photos are the female, and we met mid-day. She was quite friendly and after many shots, all of a sudden she flew fast to my camera lens and then my finger...then resumed her position! I can read your mind...that wasn't anger...just go along with me, okay?! Seriously though, it is kind of neat to see a tiny creature curious and it gave me a good laugh, too.
How handsome is he? These two photos are the male. The first time I saw him it was early morning, I had just took a quick walk around the pond. We still have a rather large size rock garden in place where our original waterfalls were located. All of the original bushes, and perennial plants are still there, but this Jewelwing was gliding in and out of the very large Japanese Willow bushes before resting high in the Japanese Willow tree. No worthy photo opportunities that day.
The second time I saw the male (assuming they are one in the same), it was a bright and breezy early evening. I wish the shots were sharper. He was hanging around on some Hosta and Daylily leaves. The male and female are both something else to see, but the coloring on the male really stands out in the sun.
23 comments:
A stunning damselfly and some beautiful images. It looks a lot like the european Beautiful Demoiselle, which is my favourite damselfly.
WOW!
These are amazingly good captures. You are very lucky to claim this beautiful damselfly in your yard. It looks like the news of your pond is spreading fast among the dragonfly and damselfly circles!
Hello Matt...Stunner would be the perfect description. I looked up photos of the European Demoiselle, yes... beautiful as well. Thanks for stopping by!
Hey Matt...Sorry, I was unable to leave a comment on your posts. Seems to me your trip to North Wales was a success by measure of all your great photos. I also enjoyed those two Moths(?)back to back on your side bar!
Hi Amila...Thank you, I saw an Ebony Jewelwing just today, briefly! Not sure if it was male or female. Yes, the news is out about my pond, except this year we have a colony of Red-Winged Blackbirds nesting in our cattails. It is so very depressing to see how few dragons are here at this point compared to last year. Anytime you look to the pond, you can see the birds diving in every direction. Dragonflies are one of their favorite insects...imagine that!
Have just caught up with all your recent posts and just loved looking at the wide range of damsels that are around you. The Ebony is absolutely stunning.
Lol Frank.
Spooky,
Lovely aren't they! Very common along shady creeks around here. In our mountains the females wings are half light brown and black. Very hard to capture their essence you did good!
Just wait until the day you find a tree covered with Sparkling Jewelwings.....
Hi Frank...I have so many photos of my damsels and dragons. Being unsure of I.D., I'm hestitant of posting more. It's possible my I.D. would be incorrect...on the other hand, they are interesting to look at. I.D or no I.D! I have a couple of great captures coming up on my Wishnik Woods blog of the Red-Wings that are eating my dragons...including a down the throat view! And no... I didn't hold down the bird while pulling a dragon out of its' mouth!
Hi Randy...Love them! The way you described your females' wings, that sounds like our River Jewelwing wings. A Japanese Willow swaying in the breeze, covered with these little jewels...that would certainly catch my attention. Hey, maybe someday, my Ebony is considered common here!
Lovely captures of the damselfly.Looks like they along with the dragonflies enjoy being around you.
SD: That is certainly a neat capture of the cool colored damselfly.
BTW: I live in Kent where the Pufferbelly is located.
What a stunning pair! I know how exciting it is to find a new species in the neighborhood! And very well captured!
I love kawa tonbo (Calopterygidae).
Kawa tonbo (Calopterygidae) inhabits the mountain stream which pure water flows through in our country.
http://www.odonata.jp/03imago/Calopterygidae/index.html
I just wrote a post about this lovely creature, and even asked for your input as to the ID of it! Randy Emmitt ID'd it for me; then when I went to his blog I saw that he had you in his sidebar (on this blog). I need to visit you on this blog; I didn't realize you were more active on this one! You took some wonderful photos! I'd never seen one of these either and couldn't believe it when I saw 2 of them in my yard...and we don't have a pond here.
Hello NatureStop...I like to think so! It would be nice to see a few more of the Jewelwings. Thanks for coming by!
Hi SD, I've just popped back again to let you know that there is an AWARD on my blog for you. Please check it out. Lol Frank
I love kawa tonbo (Calopterygidae).
Kawa tonbo (Calopterygidae) inhabits the mountain stream which pure water flows through in our country.
http://www.odonata.jp/03imago/Calopterygidae/index.html
A postscript.
I made a mistake in URL.
I'm sorry.
Hi Fishing Guy...Thank you. I didn't realize there was more than one Pufferbelly. I also thought that you lived farther north closer to Lake Erie...I thought wrong!
Hi Joe...Thanks, I can sense your excitement, too, when I visit you! It's nice to connect with other dragon lovers. Most people will say...they're just insects...bugs. Well, they are,
but....
Hello Pseudothemis...The breeding habitat of our Jewelwings is found among the streams, too. I hope to see more couples in future years!
Hi Jan...I just started to post on this blog last month(since last year), had to wait for dragon season! I am so sorry that I wasn't there for your I.D....BUT...Randy is much better at I.D. than I! The Jewelwings breeding habitat is in streams. According to my I.D. book, a few of them may "stray to ponds and gardens far from the stream of their origin." You're fortunate that they strayed to you!
Hi Frank...Well, thank you so very much! I appreciate you thinking of me. I will attempt to pick it up! I have two others to add, yet as well...this connection is a REAL PAIN!!
Nice pictures of this "Caloptéryx" specie (in french !). Their cousin is the "caloptéryx vierge" (calopteryx virgo), so similar ... You can see it this : http://odonatas69.unblog.fr/tag/calopteryx/virgo/
Cheers,
Jma
Hello Jma...Thank you for stopping by. I made a visit to the link you provided, the damsels are very similar, I enjoyed all of the amazing captures there. I'm hoping to catch a glimpse of this pair again this summer!
Fantastic photogragphy,damselfies are beautiful. Well captured.
John.
Hi John...Thank you, I'm working on the first month and a half of dragons of the season...for my next post. Thanks for dropping by!
Knock...knock...
Anybody home?
Hi Amila...Sorry, that it took so long to respond. My husband has been in the hospital the past few days, he's home now. I've been going down a new path...sort of speak. I'll explain later. I will have to stop by and see what's new on your blog...thanks for the visit.
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