Ebony Jewelwing

Calopteryx maculata — the ebony jewelwing — is one of the most striking damselflies in North America and one of about 200 species in family Calopterygidae (the demoiselle and jewelwing damselflies). The species is widespread across all of eastern and central North America from southern Canada south through the eastern US to northern Florida and west to the Great Plains. Adults are 4-5 cm body length, much larger than typical damselflies. The species is sexually dimorphic: ADULT MALES have completely BLACK WINGS (both forewings and hindwings entirely jet-black, with no transparent patches) and brilliant METALLIC EMERALD-GREEN-AND-BLUE BODIES (the body iridescence shifts between green and blue depending on viewing angle and lighting); ADULT FEMALES also have dark wings (slightly more brownish-translucent than males) but with distinctive small WHITE WING SPOTS (the 'pterostigma' — a small specialized cell at the wing tip) that are conspicuous against the dark wing background and are the key field-ID feature for distinguishing female ebony jewelwings from females of other Calopteryx species. The species is the North American cousin to the European banded demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens — already in the Wild Files) and shares the same striking sexually-dimorphic wing patterns and waterside-territory courtship behavior. Males perform ELABORATE AERIAL COURTSHIP DISPLAYS to females in stream-side habitats. The display: males perch on prominent stream-side vegetation (rocks, twigs, dock pilings) and watch for passing females; when a female is detected, the male launches into an aerial display flight that includes 'WING-CLAP' DISPLAYS (rapidly opening and closing the wings to flash the iridescent body coloration against the black wings) and 'BUTTERFLY-FLIGHT' (slow fluttering flight that shows off the wing pattern). Females select males based on display quality and territory quality (territories with abundant emergent vegetation for egg-laying are preferred). The species inhabits well-vegetated medium-sized streams and slow rivers — males establish territories along stream sections and defend them against rival males. Naiads develop in stream substrates over 1-2 years. The species is one of the most-photographed damselflies in eastern NA macro nature photography and a flagship species of NA stream-margin natural history.