The Final Four

March Madness was six months late this year. Huh? On the same day I discovered a male Roseate Skimmer dragonfly (Orthemis ferruginea) at Huntley Meadows Park, I witnessed what could be described as an orgy of odonate mating. Common Whitetails, Great Blue Skimmers, and Twelve-spotted Skimmers — if it were flying then it was mating and mating frequently!

The following gallery of photos features several Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula pulchella). All of these individuals are mature males, as indicated by their coloration and terminal appendages. The scratch marks on their abdomen shows they have mated many times.

As it turns out, these were the last Twelve-spotted Skimmers I saw during 2015. I was as close to these guys as I’ve ever been to Twelve-spotted Skimmers — I think they were simply too tired to care! Please look at the full-size version of each photo in order to appreciate what it’s like to be up close and personal with a male Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly.