About the damselflies
I became interested in July 2002 in dragonflies and started trying to learn the species found in Waushara County where I live. Although I didn’t pay much attention to the damselflies that I saw that year, I did take some photos and then, when this I saw my first damselfly the next year, I decided to seriously try to study and learn those that occurred in Wisconsin.
This is one of my favorite images: Stream Bluets engaged in communal egg laying.
This turned out to be more difficult than I expected, first, because I could not find anywhere online what species actually existed in Wisconsin. Secondly, there were few books available to help in learning the damselflies. I purchased what books I could find which would include the species of damselflies that could occur here in Wisconsin. This included the following books:
Stokes Beginner’s Guide to Dragonflies and Damselflies, by Blair Nikula, Jackie Sones, and Donald & Lillian Stokes
This, as the name suggests, is a guide for beginners. It has great photos and distribution maps of some of the more easily identified damselflies, but does not cover all the species.
Dragonflies and Damselflies of Northeast Ohio, by Larry Rosche
This lists all the species found in northeastern Ohio, is superbly illustrated, and includes a terrific reference guide to the Ohio Bluets.
The Dragonflies and Damselflies of Ohio, edited by Robert C. Glotzhober and David McShaffrey
This book includes some good illustrations, keys to the species, and information about the species habits and occurrence in Ohio.
Damselflies of North America, by Minter J. Westfall, Jr. and Michael L. May
After I could not be sure that I had found Anna’s Bluet and was running into a block with some of the Spreadwing identifications, I made the plunge and purchased this bible of the damselflies.
In the meantime, I learned what I could through the tremendous Ode online network, which I used very frequently to compare photos and understand differences between species. I choose to put up my web site on Wisconsin Damselflies to give back to the online ode community and to help others interested in Wisconsin Damselflies a place from which to begin learning about this group of insects. The Iowa Odonate web site was my starting point for looking for online help. The main page of this web site lists other books, organizations, and other web resources, which were very helpful in helping me as I continue to learn about this group. I just refer you to that web site as a great starting page. I put these damselfly pages online on August 27, 2003. I hope to continue to add to my knowledge and develop the site as I learn more.