I feel silly writing about this because I feel like this is something I should have known.

Did you know there are Damselflies and Dragonflies? Yep, I’ve been observing them closely for nearly two years now and even more closely over the last few months as I’ve chased and photographed so many. I recently picked up a field guide to help me easily identify all the critters I’ve been snapping photos of and there is a section called Dragonflies and Damselflies.

Apparently, according to my new book: Field Guide to INSECTS AND SPIDERS of North America by: Arthur V. Evans and other information I’ve gathered from around the Internet, it’s not as simple as I once thought. You know…big dragonflies and little ones. There are 1,000’s of varieties of both and surprisingly they are pretty simple to tell apart.

Ebony Jewelwing, damselfly

The simplest ways *I* see to tell them apart are

Damselflies:

• body shape, extremely thin - appears more delicate
• wings fold above the body when resting
• eyes more separate

dragonfly

Dragonflies:

• body thinker, more rugged in appearance
• wings rest at sides, often in x pattern
• eyes touching on top of head

Peace,

Kelly