Flowers and hikers wilt when the temperature reaches the high 90s but not the dragonflies and damselflies. These insects are exothermic (unable to produce their own body heat) and need warm air temperatures in order to fly. The hotter it gets, the more active they become, making August an ideal month to see them.
Ebony jewelwings (Calopteryx maculata) have been described as turquoise and emerald wands with ebony wings. This aptly named damselfly likes to perch on low shrubbery along slow-moving, shaded streams, usually facing the water as they watch for prey. When perching, damselflies hold their wings folded over their body, unlike dragonflies who hold their wings horizontal to their body.
Useful as well as beautiful, jewelwings eat mosquitos, gnats, crane flies, caddis flies and other small insects. In turn, jewelwings are eaten by dragonflies, spiders, fish, birds and frogs. One of our flashiest damselflies, ebony jewelwings are mainly an eastern species and relative newcomers to Boulder County.
They’re not even listed in the 2021 edition of “Insects & Kin of the Colorado Front Range,” nor could we find them in several online sites of Colorado insects. We first learned about them in 2020 and wrote them up for our August Nature Walk that year, thinking they might just be a flash in the pan. Since then, they have become established along Coal Creek with eight breeding records in 2021.
So, we decided to update our report. In mid-July, we headed to Flagg Park and almost .