Posts Tagged: damselflies

Damselflies: Long, Slender and Delicate

If you like your insects long, slender and delicate, and resembling a flying neon needle, the damselfly is for you. Who can resist watching...

This damselfly appears framed "in the red" (a red vehicle light). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This damselfly appears framed "in the red" (a red vehicle light). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The damselfly is long and slender and is sometimes called "the devil's darning needle." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The damselfly is long and slender and is sometimes called "the devil's darning needle." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The common blue damselfly or Northern Bluet (Enallagma cyathigerum). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The common blue damselfly or Northern Bluet (Enallagma cyathigerum). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Damsel, But Not in Distress

It's a damsel, but not in distress. It's a Familiar Bluett, but it's not all that familiar--unless you study Odonata. Lately we've been seeing...

A female damselfly, identified as a familiar bluet, Enallagma civile, rests on a Tithonia leaf in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female damselfly, identified as a familiar bluet, Enallagma civile, rests on a Tithonia leaf in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Entomologists call this a "two-fer" photo: two insects in the same photo. While one damselfly claims a leaf, another circles above. These are the familiar bluett, (Enallagma civile), according to Greg Kareofelas, an associate at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Entomologists call this a "two-fer" photo: two insects in the same photo. While one damselfly claims a leaf, another circles above. These are the familiar bluett, (Enallagma civile), according to Greg Kareofelas, an associate at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Blue as Blue Can Be

They look like shiny blue and black needles. Make that "flying" shiny blue and black needles. We spotted this damselfly foraging on a Mexican...

A male tule bluet on a fading Mexican sunflower blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male tule bluet on a fading Mexican sunflower blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Mighty Mites!

If you've ever been "up close and personal" to a damselfly, you might have seen the water mites. Naturalist Greg Karofelas of Davis, an associate of...

Water mites on a damselfly. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas, taken with a Canon Elph)

Water mites on a damselfly. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas, taken with a Canon Elph)

This image shows a damselfly with water mites on its thorax. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This image shows a damselfly with water mites on its thorax. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Delightful Damselflies

When an egret swooped down and ate all the goldfish in our fish pond--quite a smorgasbord of goldies--we left the pond bare for a couple of...

Damselfly with water mites (see egglike mass). The insect next to it is probably thrips, according to Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Damselfly with water mites (see egglike mass). The insect next to it is probably thrips, according to Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Damselfly resting in the garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Damselfly resting in the garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A blue damsefly brightens the garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A blue damsefly brightens the garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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