Ebony Jewelwing

The Ebony Jewelwing is a striking damselfly in the broad-winged damselfly family (Calopterygidae), widespread across the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Its entirely black wings, unusual among damselflies, combine with a brilliant metallic green to blue-green body to make it one of the most visually distinctive damselflies in its range.

Unlike the narrow, clear-winged bodies of many pond damselflies, jewelwings have broad, rounded wings and a fluttery, butterfly-like flight, and they are almost always found near flowing woodland streams rather than open ponds.

• Entirely black (or very dark smoky) wings in both sexes, without clear patches
• Metallic emerald-green to blue-green body with an iridescent sheen
• Females have a small white spot (stigma) near the wingtip; males lack this spot
• Broad, rounded wing shape distinct from the narrow wings of pond damselflies
• Similar River Jewelwing has partly clear wing bases, distinguishing it from the all-dark-winged Ebony Jewelwing

Ebony Jewelwings are closely tied to shaded, clean, flowing streams and creeks, often within wooded settings where dappled sunlight filters through the canopy. The species is widespread across the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Adults are typically seen from late spring through summer along streamside vegetation.

Adults have a slow, fluttering flight reminiscent of a butterfly, often perching on streamside leaves with wings held together above the body and periodically flicking them open and closed, a display used in courtship and territorial signaling. They feed on small flying insects captured near the stream, including gnats and other tiny insects. Because the nymphs require clean, well-oxygenated flowing water, Ebony Jewelwings are considered a good indicator of healthy stream habitat, and both nymphs and adults serve as prey for fish, birds, and other predators.

Females lay eggs by inserting them into plant tissue at or below the water surface using a blade-like ovipositor, sometimes submerging partially to do so. Eggs hatch into slender aquatic nymphs that live among submerged vegetation and debris in the stream, developing over roughly one year while preying on small invertebrates. After several molts, the mature nymph climbs out of the water onto streamside vegetation to complete its final molt into a winged adult. Adults live for a few weeks, during which courtship displays, mating, and egg-laying take place along the home stream.