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Calopteryx maculata
Ebony Jewelwing
Florida native
One of the more common damselflies of freshwater streams, usually shaded with dense vegetation, in Florida north of a line from DeSoto County on the west coast to Brevard County on the east coast. The range extends throughout most of central and eastern North America.
Ebony jewelwings have a green body and dark wings, which like most damselflies are held together vertically while at rest. Males are a more iridescent green with black wings. Females are bluish-green with smoky bronze wings having a white spot on the leading edge of the wing near the wingtip. This white spot is called a pterostigma. The spined legs help them catch prey such as gnats, mosquitoes and crane flies. Calopteryx maculata have a body length of 39-57 mm (2-1/4 - 3 in.) and a wingspan of 58-76 mm (1-1/2 - 2-1/4 in.)
Calopteryx maculata is a member of the Calopterygidae - Broad-winged Damsels family.
Other species of the Calopteryx genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Calopteryx dimidiata - SPARKLING JEWELWING
For more information on this species, visit the following link:
UF Entomology Dept. Featured Creatures page for this species
Date record last modified: Mar 19, 2020
