Image 1 of 1
Specimen No. 79 The White River Jewelwing
Specimen No. 79
Name: The White River Jewelwing | Calopteryx alboripae
Observer: Miss Eleanor Forsythe, Naturalist-in-Residence, Royal Society of North America
Discovered: 12 August 1814
Locality: East bank of the White River, Mt. Rainier, Washington Territory
Catalog No. FD - 17 - 79
It was on a temperate August morning, the sun yet modest in its ascent, that Miss Eleanor Forsythe found herself on the stony east bank of the White River, intent upon collecting alpine sedge specimens. The river, fed by glacial melt, ran pale and swift, its chill drawing a veil of mist above the current. It was through this gauze that the White River Jewelwing appeared — not in haste, but with an air of polite curiosity, as though inclined to inspect her work before resuming its own affairs.
The wings of this dragonfly were a softened brick-pink, as though their color had been tempered by sun and time, giving them a muted warmth rather than a bright flare. Each wing was a lattice of impossibly fine cells, a netted architecture that catches light like stained glass in miniature. The venation, sharply defined; every line branching into smaller tributaries until the whole became an intricate map—both delicate and precise. When viewed closely, the transparency of the membrane shifted with angle and illumination, so that the pink undertone deepened toward a ruddy blush or faded into a dusty rose, lending the insect an elegance both subtle and exacting.
Its large, widely spaced eyes were of a claret blush, seeming less the sharp instruments of a predator than the contemplative gaze of a philosopher. Miss Forsythe observed that the Jewelwing alighted only upon the highest and driest stones midstream, from which it would make brief, dipping flights low over the water, its wings moving in a slow, unhurried cadence. Such behaviour, she surmised, might conserve energy in the cool, oxygen-rich air of the glacial valley, or perhaps simply reflected a temperament unswayed by the currents’ insistence.
“Description:
Body length 1⅞ in. (4.7 cm); wingspan 2¾ in. (7 cm). Forewings clear at base, deepening to silvery-white iridescent tips. Abdomen pale bronze, finely segmented. Eyes muted jade, widely spaced.
Habitat & Behaviour:
Observed perching on exposed river stones midstream; brief, low flights over water surface. Associated with cold, fast-moving glacial meltwater. Wing movement measured and deliberate.
Remarks:
Believed endemic to glacial rivers of Mt. Rainier. Iridescent wing tips closely resemble foam patterns of the White River, aiding concealment from aerial predators.”
Upon her return to camp, Miss Forsythe prepared these notes with particular care, sketching the wing pattern and marking the exact point of capture on her map of the river’s east bank. A single specimen was retained and mounted for the Royal Society’s archive, accompanied by her suggestion that Calopteryx alboripae be considered a species of restricted range, its appearance forever bound to the clear, swift waters descending from the ice-bound shoulders of Mt. Rainier.
Note: High quality archival glicée print on acid-free paper, a method that creates fine art reproductions with exceptional color accuracy and longevity. Pigments-based inks are designed to resist fading and discoloration and capture the finest details and subtle color variations with great precision.
Housed in a 4×6” crystal-clear acrylic specimen block, its 1” depth allows freestanding display. Each piece is designed to exhibit on desk or shelf..
Fly Design uses a practice known as entonology — the study of fictitious insects — to reimagine the natural world through scientific storytelling and poetic design.
Specimen No. 79
Name: The White River Jewelwing | Calopteryx alboripae
Observer: Miss Eleanor Forsythe, Naturalist-in-Residence, Royal Society of North America
Discovered: 12 August 1814
Locality: East bank of the White River, Mt. Rainier, Washington Territory
Catalog No. FD - 17 - 79
It was on a temperate August morning, the sun yet modest in its ascent, that Miss Eleanor Forsythe found herself on the stony east bank of the White River, intent upon collecting alpine sedge specimens. The river, fed by glacial melt, ran pale and swift, its chill drawing a veil of mist above the current. It was through this gauze that the White River Jewelwing appeared — not in haste, but with an air of polite curiosity, as though inclined to inspect her work before resuming its own affairs.
The wings of this dragonfly were a softened brick-pink, as though their color had been tempered by sun and time, giving them a muted warmth rather than a bright flare. Each wing was a lattice of impossibly fine cells, a netted architecture that catches light like stained glass in miniature. The venation, sharply defined; every line branching into smaller tributaries until the whole became an intricate map—both delicate and precise. When viewed closely, the transparency of the membrane shifted with angle and illumination, so that the pink undertone deepened toward a ruddy blush or faded into a dusty rose, lending the insect an elegance both subtle and exacting.
Its large, widely spaced eyes were of a claret blush, seeming less the sharp instruments of a predator than the contemplative gaze of a philosopher. Miss Forsythe observed that the Jewelwing alighted only upon the highest and driest stones midstream, from which it would make brief, dipping flights low over the water, its wings moving in a slow, unhurried cadence. Such behaviour, she surmised, might conserve energy in the cool, oxygen-rich air of the glacial valley, or perhaps simply reflected a temperament unswayed by the currents’ insistence.
“Description:
Body length 1⅞ in. (4.7 cm); wingspan 2¾ in. (7 cm). Forewings clear at base, deepening to silvery-white iridescent tips. Abdomen pale bronze, finely segmented. Eyes muted jade, widely spaced.
Habitat & Behaviour:
Observed perching on exposed river stones midstream; brief, low flights over water surface. Associated with cold, fast-moving glacial meltwater. Wing movement measured and deliberate.
Remarks:
Believed endemic to glacial rivers of Mt. Rainier. Iridescent wing tips closely resemble foam patterns of the White River, aiding concealment from aerial predators.”
Upon her return to camp, Miss Forsythe prepared these notes with particular care, sketching the wing pattern and marking the exact point of capture on her map of the river’s east bank. A single specimen was retained and mounted for the Royal Society’s archive, accompanied by her suggestion that Calopteryx alboripae be considered a species of restricted range, its appearance forever bound to the clear, swift waters descending from the ice-bound shoulders of Mt. Rainier.
Note: High quality archival glicée print on acid-free paper, a method that creates fine art reproductions with exceptional color accuracy and longevity. Pigments-based inks are designed to resist fading and discoloration and capture the finest details and subtle color variations with great precision.
Housed in a 4×6” crystal-clear acrylic specimen block, its 1” depth allows freestanding display. Each piece is designed to exhibit on desk or shelf..
Fly Design uses a practice known as entonology — the study of fictitious insects — to reimagine the natural world through scientific storytelling and poetic design.