Ebony Jewelwing vs Currant Stem Girdler

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Ebony Jewelwing Currant Stem Girdler
Scientific Name Calopteryx maculata Janus integer
Order Odonata Hymenoptera
Family Calopterygidae Cephidae
Size 39-57 mm body 8-11 mm
Habitat Rivers & Streams Underground
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions North America North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Ebony Jewelwing

A stunning damselfly with entirely jet-black wings (males) or smoky wings with white spots (females). Males perform a courtship display by opening and closing their dark wings.

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Did You Know?

Male ebony jewelwings perform a butterfly-like courtship dance, slowly fluttering their dramatic black wings to catch sunlight and impress females perched on streamside vegetation.

Currant Stem Girdler

A slender black stem sawfly that attacks currant and gooseberry bushes. Females girdle the stem tips with their ovipositor, causing them to wilt.

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Did You Know?

The female girdles the stem above the egg insertion point, causing the tip to wilt and die, which provides the larva with softened stem tissue to feed on.