I have always admired photos of dragonflies and raindrops or in the morning dew! Finally, not only the raindrops but a spectacular Halloween Pennant dragonfly as well! My first of the year:) Dewdrops next! Ha! I so love watching these amazing insects!
Just learning the varieties of them is a challenge, then figuring out the males and females who can look quite different! The widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) is one of the group of dragonflies known as king skimmers. The nymphs live in the water, molting and growing until they are ready to emerge from the water and then molting a final time to reveal their wings! Females are yellow with brown stripes and males are blue/black! They are predators that prey on other insects, such as mosquitoes. They catch their prey using their legs and use their fangs to bring prey into their mouth. Get those mosquitoes guys!
It’s hard to miss the Slaty Skimmer male’s beautiful blue body, his lady friend certainly looks different! Mature males are dark blue with black heads. Females and juveniles have brown abdomens with a darker stripe down their backs. Adults fly from June to August!
The twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula pulchella) is a common North American skimmer dragonfly, found in southern Canada and in all 48 of the contiguous U.S. states. Each wing has three brown spots. In adult males, additional white spots form between the brown ones and at the bases of the hindwings!
There are also Four Spotted Skimmers! Tiny little wings spots! This active dragonfly mainly lives by ponds, vernal pools, and slow flowing rivers; they are most common in June and July.
I thought these were two types but no…the Eastern Pondhawk, also known as the Common Pondhawk, is native to the eastern two-thirds of the United States and southern Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is a dragonfly of ponds and still waters. The species is distinguished in that the female is bright green with a banded abdomen and the mature male has a blue abdomen with a green face and green and blue thorax!
“Nymphs of the eastern pondhawk are identifiable by their green eyes. When they leave the water and moult for the final time, the emerging immature adult is dull olive green but over the course of a few hours, the abdomen becomes bright green, there is dark brown banding and the heads take on a metallic green sheen.” Thanks iNaturalist!
As for the Meadowhawks, I give up, maybe one day I’ll know them apart!
…and the Whitefaces! Ha! The Dot-tailed Whiteface can be found near boggy and marshy ponds and lakes, and beaver ponds. It also likes to perch on water lilies. On hot, sunny days, Dot-tailed Whitefaces can be found basking in clearings on the ground or on twigs. At least you can see the dot! Yeah! The
At least the Blue Dashers… are blue when they mature! Ha!! I love their racing stripes! The Mrs. has the racing stripes in beige and brown;)
There is also the Common Whitetail or long-tailed skimmer (Plathemis lydia), which has a striking and unusual appearance. The male’s chunky white body (about 5 cm (2.0 in) long), combined with the brownish-black bands on its otherwise translucent wings, giving it a checkered look.
Racket Tailed Emerald you say? I would love to name Dragonflies! Ha! American Emerald here as well, the slender tailed guys and girls!
This was the year of the Chalk Fronted Corporal! I thought they might be all we were going to see for a while. They dominated the entire roadway! Those shadows! Ha! Half the fun!
So many types, I’ve missed a few, a few are still to come! I was really excited to see the Halloween Pennant! We’ll see what the rest of July brings! I’ll leave you with this pretty one!
The Halloween pennant’s wings are entirely orange-yellow in color with dark brown bands, the Halloween inspiration for its common name. Dragonflies of its genus perch at the tips of plants, waving in the breeze like pennants. The young have yellow markings, including a stripe on their back. The adult male and female may develop pale red markings, especially on the face. They feed on other insects. It is also able to fly in rain and strong wind!
I’ll be keeping an eye out for any newbies to share and to keep learning as I go! Thankful for my Facebook friends and the many other wonderful people I have met who point out the males/females and ID these marvelous insects and share their knowledge! Forever grateful to them!
I was going to publish this first thing this morning, but then I went outside, and a beautiful Calico Pennant was sitting on a gladiola leaf! I will leave you with this stunning Dragonfly! The one thing about hot, smokey, muggy, bugs biting me all the time weather is I might not go far, or want to, but there is so much beautiful, fascinating life right here in front of me:)
Saludos amigos!
