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smoky rubyspot
smoky rubyspot (Hetaerina titia) [female] [male]
Photos © Mary Kay Rubey
Features and Behaviors
FEATURES
The smoky rubyspot is about one and one-half to two inches long. Males have dark brown eyes, a black to brown body, and wings with spots that vary in color and size – from small, red spots to entirely black. Freshly molted adult (teneral) males have bright eyes. Females are typically smaller and duller than males. Females have a tan, striped and spotted face, with yellow brown eyes. The thorax is brown with a metallic green shine and the abdomen is mostly black. The ebony jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata) has black wings that are much wider than the smoky rubyspot, and only occur in the southern half of the state. The American rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) is similar are brighter on the underside and have brighter thoracic stripes.
BEHAVIOR
The smoky rubyspot lives near streams and rivers in shady woodlands. They feed 20 to 30 feet in the air. Males and females have a brief, pre-mating “dance”, circling one another for around 30 seconds. Following mating, males guard females while depositing eggs, in aquatic plants near the shoreline. Females may dive below the surface of the water for 2 hours to do so! They can be seen in the southern half of Illinois and north along the Mississippi River from August to September.
Illinois Range
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Family: Calopterygidae
Illinois Status: common, native
