There are many Rubyspot species in the Americas. I was thrilled to find my first wonderful damselfly at the James River Pony Pasture Park in Richmond, Va, 2024.
The smokiness of the wings of this species can vary tremendously all the way up to completely smoked, as evidenced by the one I managed to photograph in Costa Rica 2026, which really does not look like the same beast. In Dennis Paulson’s Field Guide to Costa Rica, he notes strong differences between individuals on the Caribbean slope compared to those on the Pacific slope.
I had originally hoped that my fourth picture here might be the Hetaerina americana (American Rubyspot) but unfortunately I now believe not. It shows an individual with no visible smoking on the wing tip but the “ruby spot” looks wrong for americana (no white veins), so I’m pretty sure this is another titia.
| male: USA | |
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 male-4.jpg) |
 male-3.jpg) |
 male-2.jpg) |
| male: Costa Rica |
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