The ebony jewelwing

Flying jewels of the streamside

Some friends and I took a hike up and around a small creek in Sullivan County in late June, and we ended up near a nice shady spot along the creek, with a mature hemlock forest providing the shade and some respite from the heat on that warm afternoon. I spotted a dark flying insect flittering above the ferns lining the stream bank and thought it could be a butterfly. A closer look, however, revealed this to be a damselfly; its dark azure blue body glinting in the sunlight that was striking against the lush green surroundings of the stream habitat. This member of the Odonate family (dragonflies/damselflies) was about two inches long, and had wings that appeared black. A few minutes of watching revealed that there were close to a dozen others, flying through the shafts of sunlight by the stream.

Our mid-afternoon rest break entertainment was provided by no less than the ebony jewelwing (Calopteryx maculate), a large damselfly that prefers habitat we had observed it in; shaded, quiet streams with sunny patches. This species can be found flying in this region from May into August. They can be found on perches close to the ground and also flittering in small groups. During mating season, males sometimes spread their wings just after landing to increase their visibility to prospective mates. Males have dark, opaque wings, and females have brown, semi-transparent wings with small white spot on the tip of each wing. Their flight is like that of a butterfly, and groups of ebony jewelwings can frequently be seen chasing each other in small, erratic circles.

If you spot a large, metallic blue damselfly with black wings by a stream, stop and enjoy the sound of gurgling water and witness the aerial escapades of the ebony jewelwing.