American Rubyspot damselfly (male)

During a photowalk with Michael Powell in Fairfax County, Virginia USA, Mike spotted an American Rubyspot damselfly (Hetaerina americana) perched facing the Potomac River. This individual is a male, as indicated by his red coloration, hamules, and terminal appendages.

All of the photos in the following gallery look similar, although there are subtle differences.

The first photo is the “record shot” for this individual, that is, “get a shot, any shot.” Actually, this one turned out to be a good photo! The camera was set for an aperture of f/5.6 for all shots in the gallery. This viewing angle provided the clearest look at his terminal appendages given the relatively shallow depth-of-field.

08 JUN 2020 | Fairfax County, VA | American Rubyspot (male)

The next photo shows a better look at the damselfly’s metallic ruby red face. Handsome!

08 JUN 2020 | Fairfax County, VA | American Rubyspot (male)

Finally, I just like the look of the “light” in the last photo. Dark and moody.

08 JUN 2020 | Fairfax County, VA | American Rubyspot (male)

Related Resource: American Rubyspot – a blog post by Michael Powell

Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

American Rubyspot damselfly (female)

An American Rubyspot damselfly (Hetaerina americana) was spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell along Popes Head Creek at Hemlock Overlook Regional Park (HORP), Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

29 AUG 2019 | HORP | American Rubyspot (female)

This individual is a female, as indicated by her muted coloration (relative to males of the same species), thick abdomen, and terminal appendages.

29 AUG 2019 | HORP | American Rubyspot (female)

Mike and I saw the female as we worked our way upstream, and again on the way downstream. She was near the same location both times, perched facing the water.

Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Another focus stacking face-off

Here’s another face-off between a single macro photo and a focus-stacked composite image. Let’s start with the composite image this time.

The first example is a composite image created from 14 photos.

American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) | exuvia (ventral)

In a recent blog post, I wrote…

My goal is to shoot the fewest number of photos (using a relatively small aperture such as f/18) that will show the entire specimen in focus when the photo set is focus-stacked to create a composite image. Source Credit: More Calico Pennant exuvia composite images.

I used to shoot several photos of a single focus point, e.g., the prementum, and select the sharpest image for editing/focus stacking. Now I’m using a wider aperture such as either f/11 or f/8 (for sharpness), shooting more photos, and using every photo that I take. My rationale is simple: A single photo may not be the sharpest photo of a single focus point, but it probably shows other areas that are in focus. In this case, I think more “raw material” is better than less.

The last example is one of the better photos from the set of 14. When you click on the images they open in a new tab automatically. Toggle back-and-forth between tabs and I think you will agree the composite image is clearly better than the following single photo.

American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) | exuvia (ventral)

The Backstory

An American Rubyspot damselfly (Hetaerina americana) nymph was collected by Bob Perkins on 06 August 2017 along the New River in Grayson County, Virginia USA. The nymph was reared in captivity, albeit briefly, until it emerged on 09 August 2017.

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Why focus stack macro photos?

Why focus stack macro photos? The answer is obvious: The difference between a single macro photo and a focus-stacked composite image is like night and day.

The first example is one of the better photos from a set of 13. It is the same photo that is featured in Hetaerina americana exuvia, my identification guide for American Rubyspot damselfly exuviae.

American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) | exuvia (dorsal)

The last example is a composite image created using all 13 photos in the set.

American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) | exuvia (dorsal)

You may not notice the difference in quality unless you look at the full-size version of both images. When you click on the images they open in a new tab automatically. Toggle back-and-forth between tabs and I think you will agree the composite image is clearly better than the single photo.

The Backstory

An American Rubyspot damselfly (Hetaerina americana) nymph was collected by Bob Perkins on 06 August 2017 along the New River in Grayson County, Virginia USA. The nymph was reared in captivity, albeit briefly, until it emerged on 09 August 2017.

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Hetaerina americana exuvia

An American Rubyspot damselfly (Hetaerina americana) nymph was collected by Bob Perkins on 06 August 2017 along the New River in Grayson County, Virginia USA. The nymph was reared in captivity, albeit briefly, until it emerged on 09 August 2017.

Pattern recognition can be used to tentatively identify damselfly larvae/exuviae to the family level: the shape of the prementum is characteristic for each of the three families of damselflies that occur in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States of America; mnemonics can be used to remember each distinctive shape.

Family Calopterygidae (Broad-winged Damselflies) features a prementum with a shape that looks somewhat similar to Family Coenagrionidae (Narrow-winged Damselflies). Look for an embedded raindrop shape, located toward the upper-center of the prementum.

No. 1 | Hetaerina americana | exuvia (prementum)

Also notice another field mark for Calopterygidae: the first antenna segment is equal to or longer than the length of the other six (6) segments added together. (Editor’s Note: Some of the smaller antennae segments are missing. It’s likely those delicate parts broke off during shipping and/or cleaning.)

No. 2 | Hetaerina americana | exuvia (ventral)

Two field marks verify the genus and species of this specimen as Hetaerina americana: the labial cleft extends only to the base of the palpal lobes, as shown in Photo No. 1; and the external gills are 8.5 mm to 10 mm long (Daigle, 1991), as shown in Photo No. 2.

Before and after

Photo No. 3 shows a dorsal view of the exuvia before it was cleaned in order to remove unknown fibers covering the body and dirt/debris that obscured the labial cleft in the prementum.

No. 3 | Hetaerina americana | exuvia (dorsal)

Photo No. 1, 2 and 4 show the exuvia after cleaning. The operation appears to have been successful, other than collateral damage to two legs.

No. 4 | Hetaerina americana | exuvia (dorsal)

The next photograph shows the damselfly during emergence from one of Bob Perkins‘ holding tanks. Good timing, Bob!

Image used with permission from Bob Perkins.

The last photo shows the adult American Rubyspot damselfly sometime after emergence. Hetaerina americana is 38-46 mm in total length (Paulson, 2011). This individual is a male, as indicated by its hamules and terminal appendages.

Image used with permission from Bob Perkins.

Related Resource: Florida Damselflies (Zygoptera) – A Species Key to the Aquatic Larval Stages, by Jerrell James Daigle. Technical Series, Volume 11, Number 1, December 1991. State of Florida, Department of Environmental Regulation.

Tech Tips

The following equipment was used to shoot Photo No. 2, 3 and 4: Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital camera, in manual mode; Kenko 20mm macro automatic extension tube; Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro lens (set for manual focus); Canon MT-26EX-RT Macro Twin Lite. Photo No. 1 , 2 and 4: the Canon MT-26 was set for “Master” mode, and Canon 580 EX- and Canon 580EX II Speedlites were set for “Slave” mode. A Canon MP-E 65mm Macro lens (manual focus only, set for 2x magnification) plus multiple-flash setup was used for Photo No. 1.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 was used to annotate selected images.

Bob Perkins’ photos were shot using a Canon EOS Rebel T3i camera body and Canon EF-S 60mm macro lens.

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

American Rubyspot damselfly exuvia

An American Rubyspot damselfly (Hetaerina americana) nymph was collected by Bob Perkins on 06 August 2017 along the New River in Grayson County, Virginia USA. The nymph was reared in captivity, albeit briefly, until it emerged on 09 August 2017.

This individual is a member of the Family Calopterygidae (Broad-winged Damselflies), as indicated by the length of antenna segment 1 (shown below). See Hetaerina americana exuvia for a more detailed explanation.

No. 1 | Hetaerina americana | exuvia (dorsal)

If you look closely at the full-size version of both photos, then you should notice the specimen is covered by a lot of fibers of unknown origin.

That nymph was in the final instar when I collected it. Therefore it didn’t shed the algae and debris that had collected on its bristles. Source Credit: Personal communication with Bob Perkins.

A quick look at the prementum (below) shows the labial cleft, a key field mark for verifying the species, is obscured by some of the “debris” that Bob mentioned. As of this writing, the exuvia is soaking in a soapy water bath in the hope that it can be cleaned sufficiently to see that field mark clearly.

No. 2 | Hetaerina americana | exuvia (ventral)

To be continued…

Tech Tips

The following equipment was used to shoot Photo No. 1 and 2: Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital camera, in manual mode; Kenko 20mm macro automatic extension tube; Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro lens (set for manual focus); and Canon MT-26EX-RT Macro Twin Lite.

Two Sunpak LED-160 Video Lights (each with a white translucent plastic filter) were used for both photos.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 was used to annotate both images.

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

American Rubyspot damselfly (female)

An American Rubyspot damselfly (Hetaerina americana) was spotted during a photowalk along Bull Run in Fairfax County, Virginia USA. As far as I know, this is the first official record for American Rubyspot at this location.

This individual is a female, as indicated by her terminal appendages and ovipositor.

21 JUN 2017 | Fairfax County, VA | American Rubyspot (female)

Notice one of the damselfly’s wings is either malformed or injured. She was able to fly, although it seemed to be a struggle.

The Backstory

The damselfly landed on my thigh a few minutes before the preceding photograph was taken. It was like she was pleading with me to help her, although I admit I tend to project my thoughts onto the odonates I photograph. I would have tried to unfold her wing, but I never had an opportunity. Two teenage girls and a bear-sized dog startled me! (I never heard/saw them approaching. The girls told me their dog is a Long Hair German Shepherd.) When I flinched the damselfly flew to the perch shown above, just beyond my reach.

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

American Rubyspot damselfly (male)

An American Rubyspot damselfly (Hetaerina americana) was spotted along the Potomac River at Riverbend Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is a male, as indicated by his coloration and hamules.

04 AUG 2016 | Riverbend Park | American Rubyspot (male)

One and done. That’s the way some wildlife photographers shoot a subject. I like to “work the shot,” that is, shoot the subject from all angles and in different positions.

In this case, the damselfly was perching over deep water. I waded into the water as far as I could go in my knee-high green wellies and made the best of a less than ideal situation.

04 AUG 2016 | Riverbend Park | American Rubyspot (male)

Since the subject never moved from his perch above the water, I moved so that my viewpoint featured different backgrounds. Also, the damselfly changed position slightly during the shoot. Although all of the photos in this set are similar, each one is different in the way it looks and feels.

04 AUG 2016 | Riverbend Park | American Rubyspot (male)

04 AUG 2016 | Riverbend Park | American Rubyspot (male)

04 AUG 2016 | Riverbend Park | American Rubyspot (male)

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

American Rubyspot damselflies

American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) is a member of the Family Calopterygidae (Broad-winged damselflies). They are common from May to October along rocky streams with riffles, such as the Potomac River at Riverbend Park.

Female

Female American Rubyspots are quite variable in appearance. The following specimen has a metallic green thorax and dark-colored abdomen; its wings feature a color gradient from red at the base to diffuse reddish-orange at the wing tips.

04 AUG 2016 | Riverbend Park | American Rubyspot (female)

The following annotated image illustrates some of the reproductive anatomy of a female American Rubyspot: two cerci (sing. cercus), superior appendages that have little or no function; and two styli (sing. stylus), structures that serve as sensors in egg positioning.

04 AUG 2016 | Riverbend Park | American Rubyspot (female)

(See a full-size version of the original photo, without annotation.)

Male

Male American Rubyspots have a metallic red thorax and dark-colored abdomen; its wings feature well-defined ruby-colored spots at the base. I was so focused on photographing the deep red wing spots that I forgot to shoot a dorsal view of the terminal appendages! No problem. See the digital scans under “Related Resources.”

08 AUG 2016 | Riverbend Park | American Rubyspot (male)

(See a full-size version of the original photo, without annotation.)

All male damselflies have four terminal appendages, collectively called “claspers.” Male damselfly terminal appendages don’t look exactly the same for all species of damselflies, but their function is identical. Claspers are used to grab and hold female damselflies during mating: an upper pair of cerci (“superior appendages”) and a lower pair of paraprocts (“inferior appendages”).

Related Resources:

• H. americana male #2 (American Rubyspot) [JPG] [digital scans]
• H. americana male #3 (American Rubyspot) [JPG] [digital scans]
• H. americana male #4 (American Rubyspot) [JPG] [digital scans]
• H. americana male #5 (American Rubyspot) [JPG] [digital scans]
• H. americana male #6 (American Rubyspot) [JPG] [digital scans]
• H. americana female #1 (American Rubyspot) [JPG] [digital scans]
• H. americana female #2 (American Rubyspot) [JPG] [digital scans]
• H. americana female #3 (American Rubyspot) [JPG] [digital scans]

Copyright © 2016 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.