Few damselflies ID please

[ilia123]

I'd appreciate it if you could help me ID these four damsels:

I think the first two are the common-blue:

[Dogghound]

are you joking ? any shots showing the body?

I suspect 4 could be a blue tailed damselfly.

[ilia123]

lol I'm afraid not - was testing out my pair of extension tubes with my 60mm macro Was curious if it is possible to ID them from the face (I just got my damselflies book through the post so I will give it a go!)

The last one looked very interesting.

[Dogghound]

If these were social wasps we would be laughing. Im not sure if they can be ID'ed hopefully someone can ID them.

[GuyF]

For what it's worth, I'd go for:
1. Common Blue (male)
2. Blue-tailed
3. Blue-tailed
4. Common Blue (female)
Can't say I'm confident though
Guy

[ilia123]

Originally Posted by GuyF

For what it's worth, I'd go for:
1. Common Blue (male)
2. Blue-tailed
3. Blue-tailed
4. Common Blue (female)
Can't say I'm confident though
Guy

Thanks a lot! I guess it is hard to distinguish an azure and common blue based on a head shot

Trouble is - I was so preoccupied with getting as close as possible that I forgot to look at them.

What is wrong with #4 why the different colour? It looks ancient.

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by GuyF

For what it's worth, I'd go for:
1. Common Blue (male)
2. Blue-tailed
3. Blue-tailed
4. Common Blue (female)
Can't say I'm confident though
Guy

What features are you using?

[wint]

3 is a Blue-tailed because of the projection of the lobe on the pronotum.
4 looks good for Common Blue with the broad antehumeral stipe and the pattern on the pronotum.

Not sure about the other 2.

[GuyF]

Originally Posted by wint

3 is a Blue-tailed because of the projection of the lobe on the pronotum.
4 looks good for Common Blue with the broad antehumeral stipe and the pattern on the pronotum.

Not sure about the other 2.

That's better than my answer! I was just going by the general impression I was getting. Although, I think that number 2 and 3 look almost identical, and they may well be the same individual although I certainly can't be sure of that.
Number 1 is tricky because of the low angle, but Azures do have more extensive black on top of the eye than Common Blues, giving the impression of a thick black cap, as in Blue-tailed Damselflies. I would expect number 1 to show more black on top of the eye if it was an Azure.
But I should say again that I'm not confident about these!
Guy

[MetalMoth]

Whatever species they are they are certainly amazing photographs! The detail in them is fantastic, really brings to life their faces! So clear and vivid.