Broad-winged Damsels (Family Calopterygidae)
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| Male Ebony Jewelwing, Johnston Mill Nature Preserve, Orange County, NC, 6/9/07 | Male Ebony Jewelwing, Johnston Mill Nature Preserve, Orange County, NC, 5/31/07 | Female Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata), Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, Orange County, NC, 6/11/05. | Female Ebony Jewelwing, NC Botanical Garden (woodland trail), Orange County, NC, 6/19/05. | Male Ebony Jewelwing, Durham, 7/31/05, spreading his wings a little. |
Spread-winged Damsels (Family Lestidae)
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| Female Great Spreadwing (Archilestes grandis), Daniel Boone Gardens, Boone, Watauga County, NC, 8/9/06 |
Pond Damsels (Family Coenagrionidae)
Bluets (Genus Enallagma)
Familiar Bluets (Enallagma civile)
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| Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile), Durham, 7/23/05. | Same Familiar Bluet (Durham, 7/23/05), apparently ovipositing (egg-laying) on grass. |
Northern Bluet (Enallagma cyatherigerum)
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| Little Scaly Mountain, Macon County, 8/11/05. Could be a Northern Bluet (Enallagma cyatherigerum), but there are some differences. Definitely not a Familiar Bluet. |
Dancers (Genus Argia)
Variable Dancers (Argia fumipennis)
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| Variable Dancer (Argia fumipennis), Duke Forest, Korstian Division, Orange County, NC, 6/11/06 | Variable Dancer, Durham, NC, 7/1/07 |
Dusky Dancers (Argia translata)
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| Male Dusky Dancer (Argia translata), Durham, 6/30/05 | Female Dusky Dancer, Durham, NC, 7/24/05 |
Blue-fronted Dancers (Argia apicalis)
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| Male Blue-fronted Dancer (Argia apicalis), Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, 7/6/05 | Male Blue-fronted Dancer (Argia apicalis), Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, Orange County, NC, 4/9/06 |
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| Blue-fronted Dancer, Durham, 6/26/05 | Blue-fronted Dancer, Durham, 6/20/05 | Immature female Blue-fronted Dancer, Durham, 6/29/05. |
Blue-ringed Dancers (Argia sedula)
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| Blue-ringed Dancer (Argia sedula), Little Scaly Mountain, Macon County, NC, 8/11/05. |
Powdered Dancers (Argia moesta)
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| Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta). The other type of damselfly I see at the same place. Picture taken the same day. Thanks to Josh Rose for ID. | Female or immature Powdered Dancer. A type of damselfly I see only at Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access. Picture taken on 6/23/05. | Powdered Dancers starting mating process, Jordan Lake Dam Visitors Center, Chatham County, 9/25/05. |
Blue-tipped Dancers (Argia tibialis)
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| Female and male Blue-tipped Dancers (Argia tibialis), Durham, 7/24/05. He is beginning the mating ritual by putting his abdomen tip behind her head. |
Forktails (Genus Ischnura)
These are pretty straightforward to identify except for the Citrine Forktail, which has at least three forms. My reading suggests there is no consensus on the sex of blue Citrine Forktails.
Fragile Forktails (Ischnura posita)
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| Mating Fragile Forktails (Ischnura posita), Durham, 7/27/06 | Female Fragile Forktail, Durham, 6/9/06 |
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| Male Fragile Forktail, Durham, 7/28/05. This damselfly showed up in a wooded area off a field. Note the characteristic "!" marks on the thorax. | Male Fragile Forktail, Durham, 8/6/05, in flight. | Male Fragile Forktail, Lake Crabtree, 3/18/06 |
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| Juvenile Fragile Forktail, Durham, 4/28/06. | Juvenile Fragile Forktail, Mason Farm Biological Reserve, 4/1/06 |
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| Adult female Fragile Forktails, Durham, 4/25/06. The third forktail (on the left) bumped into the one in the middle, and both left. | Adult female Fragile Forktail, Durham, 4/11/06. It looks like ovipositing (egg-laying), yet this took place at least 100 feet from my local swamp. | Adult female Fragile Forktail, Durham, 4/28/06. Here you can see the green in the eyes. |
Citrine Forktails (Ischnura hastata)
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| Citrine Forktail (Ischnura hastata), female, Durham, 9/22/05. This is the first Citrine Forktail of this orange form I've seen, although Citrine Forktails are very common in this swamp. | Same forktail. |
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| Blue form Citrine Forktail, Durham, NC, 6/13/05. A relatively short, "fat" damselfly, only seen in swampy areas. This one's flight was slower and shorter than those of other damselflies I've seen. | Same insect. | Blue form Citrine Forktail, Durham, 9/26/05. Has possibly experienced some wear and tear on the end of the abdomen; I've seen many looking like that. | Another blue form Citrine Forktail eating a fly, Durham, 9/26/05 |
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| This adult male Citrine Forktail is an especially anomalous damselfly, seen in a Durham swamp on 6/18/05. Note the markings on the wings. Thanks to Josh Rose for ID. | This male Citrine Forktail (Durham, 6/27/05) seems to be normal. This damselfly is even shorter than the Fragile Forktail (less than an inch long), and was barely visible to me. These males are fairly common in my Durham neighborhood swamp. | Male Citrine Forktail, Durham, 7/5/05. |
Rambur's Forktails (Ischnura ramburi)
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| Female Rambur's Forktail (Ischnura ramburi). I saw it on the north shore of Ocracoke Island, 5/16/05. This is a confusing species because of the regional color variations. Thanks to Josh Rose for ID. | Female Rambur's Forktail, Town of Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/15/05. | Male Rambur's Forktail , Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/19/05. Josh Rose provided the ID. |
Unidentified Damselflies
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| Unidentified Damselfly, Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, 6/11/05. Could be a female Aurora Damselfly (Chromagrion conditum). |