Hundreds, if not thousands, of Big Bluet damselflies (Enallagma durum) were spotted on 30 August 2017 during a photowalk along Deephole Point Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.
A mating pair of Big Bluet was spotted “in heart.” The male is on the upper-right; the female on the lower-left.
Big Bluet females are polymorphic, including a blue morph and brown morph. The female in this mating pair is a blue andromorph.
I photographed the following male because he was perching at the right height for me to take the shot while standing. I took one photo before he flew to another perch, closer to the ground.
As it turns out, the single male led me to another mating pair of Big Bluet that I hadn’t noticed!
The female in the preceding mating pair is a brown heteromorph. Color is a highly variable field mark, and describing color is subjective. In my experience, the heteromorph female Big Bluets native to Northern Virginia are light tan to light olive drab in color.
Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: adult female, adult male, Big Bluet damselfly, Enallagma durum, Family Coenagrionidae, in heart, mating pair, Narrow-winged Damselflies, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge
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