Tag Archives: damselflies

Looking for Lunch

Posted on July 25, 2012 by

Saturday I saw this bluet, Enallagma species, looking for tiny morsals of living insects to eat.  It would hoover in place, then approach a stem and bite at what it saw. This is a spectacularly beautiful damselfly.

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Self Portrait with Bug

Posted on May 30, 2012 by

I took this photo a few days ago.  Damselflies are always tough to identify.  This one is a teneral, meaning it has emerged from its aquatic stage fairly recently and has not reached its full adult coloration.  At this stage … Continue reading →

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The Southern Spreadwing

Posted on July 19, 2011 by

Dragonflies belong in the order Odonata.  In that group there are two main groups, the Anisoptera or dragonflies and the Zygoptera, or damselflies.  There is actually a third small group called the Anisozygoptera and is represented by two species found … Continue reading →

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The Iowa Red Damsel

Posted on June 7, 2011 by

This is a red damsel.  There are apparently two recognized species, the eastern red damsel, Amphiagrion saucium, and the western red damsel, A. abbreviatum.  According to the Iowa Dragonflies and Damselflies web site, the ones found in Iowa are intermediate between the two.  … Continue reading →

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A Damselfly

Posted on June 5, 2011 by

I saw this damselfly yesterday, eating a small fly. Since the spines on the tibia are longer than the spaces between them we know it is dancer, and not some other group. Damselflies and dragonflies develop their spectacular colors over … Continue reading →

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Fleas have fleas

Posted on August 7, 2010 by

This is a photo I took the other day of a damselfly.  I think it is a female bluet–Engallama sp.  I have not identified the prey item–I think it is a planthopper of some type. This damsel has a number … Continue reading →

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