July, 2020 - By Koaw
After realizing we had much confusion about this in the #teamkoaw community, this video seemed practical to produce.
Down below I’ll throw together some images that are derivative of the video. Cheers! -K
Behind-the-scenes note: I rode my bike for miles in almost 100⁰ F weather to a wetland to find a damselfly that would suffice as the folded-wings exception. I spent hours looking without any success. Drenched in sweat and having rubbed against more poison ivy than any sane person would have preferred, I finally decided to look a deeper in the woods. Five minutes later I found a nice specimen! Then I only used a few seconds of that footage for this video. =)
#1 BODY SIZE & SHAPE
Dragonflies are often larger & thicker than damselflies.
However not all dragonflies are larger than all damselflies. The eastern amberwing (Perithemis tenera) is a dragonfly with a total length of around 1” or 25mm. Some populations of the eastern amberwing share territory with the powdered dancer (Argia moesta), a damselfly reaching about about 1.5-1.7” or 38-43 mm. Although the eastern amberwing is smaller in total length, it still maintains a distinctly thicker abdomen and overall appearance.
#2 CHECK THE EYES
Damselfly eyes will not be touching while MOST dragonflies do have eyes that are touching or nearly touching.
Keep in mind that the dragonflies in the families of clubtails (Gomphidae) and petaltails (Petaluridae) may have eyes that are distinctly separated.
#3 POSITION OF RESTING WINGS
However, members of the spread-winged damselflies family (Lestidae) may not fold up the wings. Notice the slender spreadwing (Lestes rectangularis) in the image.
Some other features to keep in mind:
Dragonflies often have broad bases to their wings while damselflies have narrow bases.
Dragonflies often have a strong fast flight while damselflies often flutter and bounce around.
Dragonflies will more often be seen flying above waist-height while damselflies are more often found lower near the vegetation.