About
Damselfly and Dragonfly Life List
Updated June 21, 2023
This is my list of all the dragonflies and damselflies I have photographed and attempted to identify.
Dragonflies and damselflies, the Odonata order, like birds and butterflies, exist just about everywhere, but appear inconsistently everywhere they inhabit. This makes them equally intriguing as a traveler's game in identification.
I am always amazed by the diversity of the odonata, and particularly the rich and vivid hues found on some species in areas where few other creatures are similarly exotically colored.
There is a growing number of resources for identifying and creating a life list of dragonflies and damselflies, but the interest and marketplace is still in its infancy. An iPhone app by the reliable Birdseye Apps, Dragonfly ID, shows promise for North American species, north of Mexico.
I've organized my sightings into two major groups:
Dragonfly Life List
Lance-tipped DarnerAeshna constricta, photograhed in Beaverton, Oregon

Mexican AmberwingPerithemis intensa female, photographed in Henderson, Nevada.

Flame SkimmerEnallagma cyathigerum from Organ Pipe National Monument, Arizona

Eight-Spotted SkimmerLibellula forensis, photographed in Beaverton, Oregon

Widow SkimmerLibellula luctuosa, photographed in Beaverton, Oregon

Western PondhawkErythemis collocata from Sauvie Island, Oregon

Seaside DragonletErythrodiplax berenice from Playa Ancon, Cuba

Seaside Dragonlet Photo 2Erythrodiplax berenice from Playa Ancon, Cuba

Band-winged DragonletErythrodiplax umbrata from Abaco, Bahamas

Common WhitetailPlathemis lydia from Tualatin, Oregon

Variegated MeadowhawkSympetrum corruptum, photographed in Tualatin, Oregon. This is an adult female.

Eastern AmberwingPerithemis tenera, female, photographed in Delano, Minnesota

Blue-eyed DarnerAeshna multicolor, photographed at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Washington

Common Green DarnerAnax junius, Boyscout Island, Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. This female (which a dragonfly enthusiast friend noted has a bad case of water mites) has just captured a damselfly.

Halloween PennantCelithemis eponina, photographed in Central Minnesota. This striking dragonfly of Eastern North America is often confused with butterflies. The first photo is of a male, the second is a female.


Scarlet Skimmerfrom Kauai, Hawaii. The first photo is a male, the second photo is a female.


Four-spotted SkimmerLibellula quadrimaculata, Crow-Hassan Park Reserve, Rogers, Minnesota

Twelve-spotted SkimmerLibellula pulchella, from Central Minnesota
First photo is of female. Second photo is of male.


Silver-sided SkimmerLibellula herculea, from Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

Carmine SkipperOrthemis discolor, photographed in the Soberania Jungle, Panama

Black SaddlebagsTramea lacerata, photographed at Koll Wetlands, Oregon

Blue DasherPachydiplax longipennis, photographed at Koll Wetlands, Oregon

Black PetaltailTanypteryx hageni, photographed in the Jefferson Park Wilderness, Oregon

Pronghorn ClubtailPhanogomphus graslinellus, Crow-Hassan Park Reserve, Rogers, Minnesota

Southern DarterSympetrum meridionale, Paros Park, Paros, Greece

Pacific Clubtail, Phanogomphus kurilis, Tualatin, Oregon

Unidentified Dragonflyfrom Tambopata River region of Peru

Unidentified Dragonflyfrom Tambopata region of Peru

Unidentified DragonflyKoll Wetlands, Oregon

Unidentified DragonflyTambopata River, Peru

Damselfly Life List
Amythyst DancerArgia pallens photographed at Patagonia Lake, Arizona

River JewelwingArchilestes californica from Southeastern Oregon

Pacific ForktailIschnura cervula, from Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Washington

Rambur's ForktailIschnura ramburii, from Great Abaco Island, Bahamas

Rambur's ForktailIschnura ramburii, from Baja Sur, Mexico

Rambur's ForktailIschnura ramburii, female, from Baja Sur, Mexico

Rainbow BluetEnallagma antennatum, from Boyscout Island, Minnetrista, Minnesota

California Spreadwing DamselflyCalopteryx aequabilis, photographed in Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon

Spotted Spreadwing DamselflyLestes congener, photographed at Koll Wetlands, Oregon

Western Red DamselAmphiagrion abbreviatum, from Sauvie Island, Oregon

Common Blue DamselflyEnallagma cyathigerum

Unidentified Helicopter DamselflyPhotographed on the Napo River, Ecuador

Unidentified Damselflyfrom Tambopata River region of Peru

Unidentified Damselflyfrom Koll Wetlands, Oregon

Unidentified Damselflyfrom Koll Wetlands, Oregon

Unidentified Damselflyfrom Boyscout Island, Minnetrista, Minnesota

Explore more in About Us
Amphibian Life List
A list of all the amphibians I've seen in my life, with illustrations.
Bird Life List
A list of all the birds I've seen in my life, with illustrations.
Butterfly Life List
A list of all the butterflies I've identified in my life, with photographs.
Reptile Life List
A list of all the reptiles I've identfiied in my life, with illustrations.
Contact Me
Write to Erik Gauger of Notes from the Road
Dragonflies and Damselflies List
A list of all the Odonata insects I've seen in my life, with illustrations.
Mammal Life List
A list of all the mammals I've seen in my life.
Spider and Arachnid List
A collection of photographs of spiders and other arachnids I've seen while photographing for Notes from the Road.
Grateful Dead Jams
My list of extraordinary road-trip approved Grateful Dead jams.
Phish Jams
My list of the best Phish jams for traveling and road trips.
Alley Cats of the World
My gallery of feral, stray and wild country cats.