Various damselflies

[MarkSturtevant]

Here is an assortment of damselfly pictures. To view larger pictures, you can click on it, and enlarge further from the Flickr page.
Female Eastern forktail (Ischnura verticalis).
Eastern forktail damselfly by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

Male Eastern forktail.
Eastern forktail damselfy by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

Lily pad forktail (Ischnura kellicotti). This is a rather challenging species since they can spend their entire lives out on lily pads. Immatures have this unusual color. I went out on a kayak just to take this picture. It went well, but I will never do that again!
Lilypad forktail damselfy by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

Skimming bluets (Enallagma geminatum).
Mating skimming bluets by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

"Next time, let me drive"! I found this pair of blue-fronted dancers (Argia apicalis) in a bad situation. Fortunately there was no spider at home. I freed them, and I think they were ok.
Next time, let me drive! by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

A male bluet, possibly a Northern bluet (Enallagma annexum). Very hard to discern this species from a couple others, so I could be wrong here.
Bluet damselfly by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

Swamp spreadwing (Lestes vigiles). A shy male.
Shy swamp spreadwing damselfy. by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

Male amber-winged spreadwing (Lestes eurinis). What a jewel! Very common in woodlands, and yet I did not know of them until recently.
Amber-winged spreadwing by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

Female amber-winged spreadwing.
Amber-winged spreadwing by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

There is more, but I should stop now. Thanks for looking!

[Sumguy01]

Very nice.
Thanks for sharing.

[Lou Jost]

Wonderful. Such transparent wings! I especially like the sharp division of the ocelli into the upward-looking kind and the rest. Also your control of eye reflections is now really nice.

[banerjeesaby]

Wonderful pictures.

For someone in New Zealand, where can I expect to find them?

[MarkSturtevant]

Wonderful pictures.
For someone in New Zealand, where can I expect to find them?

Damselflies? Their immature stages are in freshwater, both lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. So their concentrations are greatest near water.

[MarkSturtevant]

Wonderful. Such transparent wings! I especially like the sharp division of the ocelli into the upward-looking kind and the rest. Also your control of eye reflections is now really nice.

Thank you! I generally use the Kuangren dual head flash, with diffusers fashioned from light-weight plastic bowls that are lined with silvery reflective tape. I've come around to modifying the space in there by putting in reflective baffles in front of the flash filaments so there is no direct light path from them. I think it helps. I still get "double" highlights, although their intensity seems "blunted" and they can be soft edged. The search for diffusion is a never-ending quest.

[hayath]

Gorgeous set of these delicate hunters!
The one with the mating pair stuck in the web is wondrous

[JSkory]

Absolutely stunning! The colors on these guys are so beautiful.

I just realized you are in Michigan as am I. Obviously these pictures were taken a bit in the past since we currently have 4 inches of snow on the ground, lol.

[MarkSturtevant]

Absolutely stunning! The colors on these guys are so beautiful.
I just realized you are in Michigan as am I. Obviously these pictures were taken a bit in the past since we currently have 4 inches of snow on the ground, lol.

Thank you. Wixom Michigan... I do get down to some parks in your area. Island Lake Rec Area, Huron Meadows... Island lake is my main 'go to' place to see the spectacular dragon hunter dragonfly (Hagenius brevistylus). I am in Grand Blanc, so a bit north of you.
Small world!

[JSkory]

Hi Mark,

I just looked up Hagenius brevistylus. That’s one big dragonfly. I will definitely have to look for them this summer.

[MarkSturtevant]

It is by far the largest clubtail dragonfly. There are sources that claim its the largest dragonfly in the continental U.S. I don't think that necessarily applies to populations this far north. Farther south they are bigger. But it is awesome, and its a species that makes a point of eating other dragonflies, hence the common name. I expect people who don't give dragonflies a glance will stop and stare at a dragon hunter flying by, though.