Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly (young male)

A Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula pulchella) was photographed along the boardwalk at Huntley Meadows Park on 10 September 2014. This individual is a young adult male, as indicated by its partial pruinescence, distinctive pattern of wing spots, and terminal appendages. As a mature adult male dragonfly, its abdomen will be completely covered by white pruinescence.

Among dragonflies that exhibit sexual dimorphism, such as Twelve-spotted Skimmers, immature/young males and females are similar in appearance. The pattern of wing spots is a key field marker for identification of Twelve-spotted Skimmer males and females, in addition to differences in their terminal appendages.

The red berries, shown in the background, are the fruit of Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris); the green globes are the fruit of buttonbush (Cephalanthus sp.).

I love a good shot of a head-tilt!

Tags: head-tilt, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula pulchella, pruinescence, sexual dimorphism, Skimmer Family, terminal appendages, Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly, wildlife photography, young male

This entry was posted on February 22, 2015 at 5:00 am and is filed under Aperture, Canon 580EX Speedlite, digital photography, dragonflies, natural science, Panasonic DMC-FZ150. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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