The Adventure of the River Jewelwing

A few weeks ago Betsy and I drove to Olympia to look for a striking damselfly called the River Jewelwing.  We've seen it only twice before, both times a single individual at Stossel Creek near Duvall.  We've heard that numbers of them can be seen just south of Olympia, where the highway crosses the Black River.  We stopped there on our way home from Arizona, but it was too early in the season at that time.  Our trip this time was during the peak of the season, and several were seen flitting along the shore of the river.

The Black River is beautiful at the location populated by the jewelwings.  Here are a couple shots along the shoreline.

Betsy on the shore of the Black River.

The Black River.  Notice the submergent vegetation, just below the surface of the water.

Just viewing at the river is pleasant enough, but if you look closely in the vegetation growing along the shore you'll see some flashes of iridescent blue and green, along with wings with black patches on them.  They are River Jewelwings, a large damselfly.  Here's what the males look like:

A male River Jewelwing with its wings slightly parted.

Side view of a male River Jewelwing on the bank of the Black River.

The iridescence of the River Jewelwings causes their color to depend on the angle at which they are viewed.  It's just like the neck and head of a male Mallard, which can appear either green or blue.  In fact, different colors at different viewing angles is one of the characteristics of iridescence.

Below are two photos of the same individual at different angles – notice how its body color changes from deep blue to brilliant green.

A male River Jewelwing viewed from one side.  The body is dark blue.

The same individual as above, this time viewed from the other side.  Its body is now brilliant green.

The males were constantly patrolling along the shore, defending their territory from other males.  Here are a couple males flashing their wings as they try to displace their competitor.

Male River Jewelwings competing for space along the shore.

Females were present as well – our first opportunity to view them.  They share the iridescent body colors of the male, and also have white spots (the stigmas) at the tip of the wings.

A female River Jewelwing.  Notice the iridescent body and the white spots on the wings.

Female River Jewelwing.  Many were seen in the male's territories, but no mating activity was observed.

All in all, it was a beautiful day at a wonderful location full of some special damselflies.