Calopteryx maculata
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The ebony jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata) is a species of broad-winged damselfly. One of about 150 species of Calopterygidae, it is found in the eastern U.S. and southeastern Canada, ranging west to the Great Plains. Other common names include black-winged damselfly.
It is between 39–57 mm (1.5–2.2 in). The male has a metallic blue-green body and black wings. The female is duller brown with smoky wings that have white spots near the tips (pseudopterostigmas). The naiad is pale brown with darker markings. There are some spots in the wings.
It lives near wooded streams and rivers, but it can move far from water. Ebony jewelwings mate in the summer. The male holds the female behind her head with his tail or abdomen. The female lays eggs in the soft stems of aquatic plants. The naiad eats small aquatic insects. When the naiad is fully grown, it crawls out of the water and molts.
This damselfly species can be seen almost year-round in some regions. Prey of this species includes the tiger mosquito, giant willow aphid, fungus gnats, crane flies, large diving beetles, eastern dobsonfly, water fleas, green darner... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Ebony Jewelwing sighting in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 43rd most-seen of the 68 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Ebony Jewelwing in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to May, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ebony Jewelwing sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Ebony Jewelwing sightings, Cape Breton Highlands National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Congaree National Park (United States, about 30%), Great Smoky Mountains National Park (United States, about 30%) and Acadia National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same order: Odonata
The closest relatives of the Ebony Jewelwing that you can see in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (order Odonata, Dragonflies and Damselflies) are Chalk-Fronted Corporal (about 20%), Eastern Forktail (about 10%) and Hudsonian Whiteface (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ebony Jewelwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
