Posts Tagged: Zygoptera

Like a Needle in a Haystack

Finding a tan-colored damselfly in a patch of fading English lavender is like finding a needle in the proverbial haystack. They're so tiny and inconspicuous that they're easy to miss. They're about an inch long and so slender that they look like flying...

Damselfly on a leaf in the late afternoon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Damselfly on a leaf in the late afternoon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A cluster of red mites on a damselfly in the early morning. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A cluster of red mites on a damselfly in the early morning. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

Soaking Up Sunshine

In the entomological world, we call that a "two-fer." Two insects in the same photo. Sunday morning we spotted a fiery skipper butterfly (Hylephila phyleus) on an artichoke leaf. It was warming its flight muscles, maybe to flutter over to the lavender...

A fiery skipper and a damselfly sharing the same spot: an artichoke leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A fiery skipper and a damselfly sharing the same spot: an artichoke leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of fiery skipper, Hylephila phyleus, belonging to the family Hesperiidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of fiery skipper, Hylephila phyleus, belonging to the family Hesperiidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Up Close and Personal

Up close and personal, those blue damselflies (suborder Zygoptera, order Odonata) look prehistoric.Fact is, they were here before the dinosaurs.These needlelike insects add an iridescent presence as they fly awkwardy over our fish pond, catching prey....

Blue damselfy resting on nectarine leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Blue damselfy resting on nectarine leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wide view of a blue damselfly perched on a nectarine leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wide view of a blue damselfly perched on a nectarine leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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