American Rubyspot

This beautiful damselfly reminds me of our friend Rita, who hails from Taiwan? Why? In addition to her white wedding dress, she also wore a bright red and gold dress during her reception. The commonality? The American rubyspot damselfly (Hetaerina americana), at least the male version, is bright red and shiny gold. Sure, Rita isn't a male, far from it, but the colors of her dress match this damselfly. This one is in the family Calopterygidae, the same family as the Ebony Jewelwing which is perhaps the most common damsel around. Both species have very broad wings, adn their flight patterns are somewhat erratic, compared to the rather slow deliberate flight of some of the other damselflies. I started seeing American Rubyspots along the Olentangy River about a week ago, and now as more hatch, they are basking up and down the river. They are somewhat skittish, but I managed to capture a decent shot as one was basking on a newly exposed rock. The water level in the Olentangy is quite low right now, and you can see aquatic insects clinging to this rock, hoping that the waters would rise again!

Tom