Stream Cruiser dragonfly (female)

The following photo gallery features a Stream Cruiser dragonfly (Didymops transversa) spotted along the upper segment of “Loop Trail” at Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

Two (2) female terminal appendages.

Male– and female Stream Cruisers are very similar in appearance: a white facial bar and a single white stripe on the side of the thorax are key characteristics of Didymops transversa. This individual is a female as indicated by the pair of white terminal appendages (cerci) at the end of its abdomen. Notice the differences between female- and male terminal appendages, as shown in the following slideshow. See a full-size version of the composite image shown in Slide 2: female appendages are shown in the background photo; male appendages are shown in the inset photo.

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Thanks to Mr. Chris Hobson, Natural Areas Zoologist with the Virginia Natural Heritage Program, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, for providing species descriptors paraphrased in this post.

Related Resources: Odonate Terminal Appendages.

Copyright © 2013 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

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Tags: Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge, cerci, claspers, Cruiser Family, Didymops transversa, female, Stream Cruiser dragonfly, terminal appendages, wildlife photography