Family: Calopterygidae
River Jewelwing

Calopterygidae: The Broad-Winged Damsels

Family Facts:

• This family is known as the Broad-Winged Damsels because their wings are broader than other damselflies.
• In North America, this family contains eight species in two genera. Only one species lives in Idaho.
• These are large damselflies with stout abdomens and relatively large wings that have either black or red markings. Bases of the wings are gradually narrowed. They are strong flyers, with a characteristic buoyant dancing flight style.
• This is the only family in our area in which the males exhibit courtship behavior and the females exercise choice in mates. The males will hover and bounce in front of a female until they are either accepted or rejected.
• The females lay eggs (oviposit) in plant tissues without the male, often crawling down a plant stem a foot beneath the water. In some species the male will hover over the female to prevent other males to mate with her.
• The naiads of these damselflies are usually found in streams and rivers. They cling to underwater roots and vegetation and wait for the water current to bring them food.
• The naiads are long and slender and very stiff-bodied. They are incapable of swimming with the side-to-side undulations used by most other damselfly naiads.

Genus: Calopteryx
These are very large damselflies with iridescent green or blue coloration, depending on how the light hits them. In most species the wing is marked with black or smoky brown.

Calopteryx aequibilis- River Jewelwing