Calopteryx amata

Description

The superb jewelwing (Calopteryx amata) is a species of damselfly in the family Calopterygidae. It is native to North America, where it is distributed in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States as far south as Tennessee. The superb jewelwing is about 2 inches long. The male is bright metallic green with amber markings on its wings. The female is bronze-tinged with greenish wings tipped in white. The adult is active in June and July. Adults and nymphs eat smaller insects. This species lives along clear rivers and streams with vegetation nearby. The males are territorial. This species may be found with dragonflies of the genus Ophiogomphus. Calopteryx is a genus of large damselflies belonging to the family Calopterygidae. The colourful males often have coloured wings whereas the more muted females usually have clear wings although some develop male (androchrome) wing characteristics. In both sexes, there is no pterostigma. It was only in 1890, many years after Leach named the genus Calopyteryx, that it was widely recognized that Leach's name was a junior synonym of the Fabrician genus Agrion, established 40 years prior. The controversy surrounding which genus name has nomenclatural priority has never been formally resolved; the ICZN mandates that Fabricius' name has priority, but the majority of the world's odonate researchers maintain the use of Calopteryx.