Mocha Emerald terminal appendages (female)

A Mocha Emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora linearis) was spotted by Andrew Rapp in Henrico County, Virginia USA. This individual is a female.

Terminal appendages

All female dragonflies have a pair of cerci (superior appendages) that have little or no function. The hind wings of female Mocha Emerald dragonflies are rounded.

21 JUL 2017 | Henrico County, VA | Mocha Emerald (female)

(See a full-size version of the original photo, without annotation.)

21 JUL 2017 | Henrico County, VA | Mocha Emerald (female)

(See a full-size version of the original photo, without annotation.)

Notice the subgenital plate shown in the preceding photo.

subgenital plate: plate below S8 that holds bunches of eggs when enlarged; variable enough in shape to be of value in identification. Source Credit: Paulson, Dennis (2011-12-19). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East (Princeton Field Guides) (Kindle Locations 11723-11724). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.

“S8” refers to abdominal segment eight. Remember that all dragonflies and damselflies have a 10-segmented abdomen, numbered from front to back.

Oviposition (egg-laying)

The following Apple iPhone 3GS “raw” video clip shows a female Mocha Emerald dragonfly laying eggs by the process of oviposition. The process typically lasts a few seconds to a few minutes. This individual was spotted on 16 July 2011 during a photowalk through the “Wildlife Sanctuary,” one of seven small parks in the community of Hollin Hills, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

Mocha Emerald dragonfly (female, ovipositing) [Ver. 2] (0:23)

Related Resource: Mocha Emerald terminal appendages (male).

Editor’s Note: Sincere thanks to Andrew Rapp for permission to use his still photographs.

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Great Blue Skimmer (mature females)

Two Great Blue Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula vibrans) were photographed during photowalks at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge (OBNWR), Prince William County, Virginia USA.

Both individuals are mature female, as indicated by their terminal appendages, muted coloration, and tattered wings. They were perching in shady hidey-holes relatively far from water.

10 SEP 2017 | OBNWR | Great Blue Skimmer (mature female)

Female Great Blue Skimmers have a pair of flanges beneath their eighth abdominal segment that are used to scoop and hold a few drops of water when laying eggs (oviposition), hence the family name “Skimmer.” Remember that all dragonflies and damselflies have a 10-segmented abdomen, numbered from front to back.

30 AUG 2017 | OBNWR | Great Blue Skimmer (mature female)

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Needham’s Skimmer (mature females)

In my experience, female Needham’s Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula needhami) seem to be more abundant than males toward the end of the adult flight period for that species.

Two Needham’s Skimmers were photographed during photowalks at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA. Both individuals are mature female, as indicated by their terminal appendages and muted coloration.

30 AUG 2017 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Needham’s Skimmer (mature female)

Post Update: Sincere thanks to Drew Chaney for identifying the flowering plant shown in the preceding photo. According to Drew, “It’s either Clematis terniflora or virginiana. I can’t tell without leaves: Terniflora has entire leaves; virginiana has toothed ones.”

10 SEP 2017 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Needham’s Skimmer (mature female)

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Up close and personal

A single Swift Setwing dragonfly (Dythemis velox) was spotted during a photowalk around Mulligan Pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge (JMAWR), Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is a male, as indicated by his terminal appendages.

18 SEP 2017 | JMAWR | Swift Setwing (male)

The preceding photograph is the “scene setter” for this gallery. I like to get as close as possible to the subject, and this guy was an extraordinarily cooperative model.

18 SEP 2017 | JMAWR | Swift Setwing (male)

18 SEP 2017 | JMAWR | Swift Setwing (male)

18 SEP 2017 | JMAWR | Swift Setwing (male)

18 SEP 2017 | JMAWR | Swift Setwing (male)

18 SEP 2017 | JMAWR | Swift Setwing (male)

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly redux (Part 2)

The same Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora filosa) was photographed while it perched on grasses located in two shady places along one of the trails at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.

This individual is a male, as indicated by his terminal appendages and prominent hamules.

Set 3

A busy background of thigh-high grasses made it challenging to find a pleasing composition.

16 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

Set 4

Photo Set 4 is my favorite, in terms of both quantity and quality. The dragonfly is shown perching on a grass stem that is estimated to be more than six feet high.

16 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

The next three photos are uncropped, that is, full-size images (4,000 x 3,000 pixels). This individual has a distinctive eye injury to the top of his left eye (facing forward) that enabled me to recognize the same male dragonfly is the subject in all four photo sets.

16 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

16 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

16 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

Did you notice the male Big Bluet damselfly (Enallagma durum) that photo-bombed the preceding image?

The last photo was cropped lightly in order to improve the composition, and Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 was used to remove a distracting element from the lower-right corner of the image.

16 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

Related Resources

• Fine-lined Emerald dragonflies (males)
• Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly redux (Part 1)

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly redux (Part 1)

Several Fine-lined Emerald dragonflies (Somatochlora filosa) were spotted during a photowalk at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.

The same dragonfly was photographed while it perched in several shady places along one of the trails at the site. In my limited experience, Somatochlora filosa seems to prefer perching on bare tree branches or long stems of wild grass. Part 1 features two photo sets showing Fine-lined Emerald resting on other types of perches; Part 2 will feature two more photo sets showing the dragonfly perching on grasses.

This individual is a male, as indicated by his terminal appendages and prominent hamules.

Set 1

The first photograph is a strong contender for my Odonart© Portfolio. I like the way the green vegatation complements the dragonfly’s emerald colored eyes. Can anyone identify the type of plant on which the dragonfly is perching?

16 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

Post Update: Sincere thanks to Drew Chaney for identifying the green plant shown in the preceding photo. According to Drew, “It’s common evening-primrose, probably Oenothera biennis.”

Set 2

The second set of photos shows the dragonfly perching on a Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) seed pod.

16 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

The next photo was taken a step-or-so closer…

16 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

This individual has a distinctive eye injury to the top of his left eye (facing forward).

16 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

And after a few side steps, I was able to take a good ventral-lateral shot.

16 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

Editor’s Note: Sincere thanks to several members of the Capital Naturalist Facebook group for identifying the species of milkweed plant shown in photo Set 2. “Capital Naturalist” is administered by Alonso Abugattas, Natural Resources Manager, Arlington County Parks, Virginia.

Related Resources

• Fine-lined Emerald dragonflies (males)
• Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly redux (Part 2)

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Robber fly (female)

An unknown species of robber fly was spotted perching on a wooden post along Deephole Point Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA. Notice its abdomen is two-thirds striped and one-third black, indicating this individual is a female.

10 SEP 2017 | Occoquan Bay NWR | robber fly (female)

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Black Saddlebags (terminal appendages)

Male and female Black Saddlebags dragonflies (Tramea lacerata) are somewhat similar in appearance. Terminal appendages can be used to identify gender.

Female

A female Black Saddlebags was spotted along Deephole Point Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.

10 SEP 2017 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Black Saddlebags (female)

Female dragonflies have a pair of cerci (superior appendages) that have little or no function.

10 SEP 2017 | Occoquan Bay NWR | Black Saddlebags (female)

(See a full-size version of the original photo, without annotation.)

Male

Male dragonflies have three terminal appendages, collectively called “claspers,” that are used to grab and hold female dragonflies during mating: an upper pair of cerci (“superior appendages”); and a lower unpaired epiproct (“inferior appendage”).

A male Black Saddlebags was spotted in the central wetland area at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

12 SEP 2014 | Huntley Meadows Park | Black Saddlebags (male)

(See a full-size version of the original photo, without annotation.)

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Fine-lined Emerald dragonflies (males)

Three Fine-lined Emerald dragonflies (Somatochlora filosa) were spotted during a long photowalk at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA. All three individuals are males, as indicated by their terminal appendages and prominent hamules.

If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. Source Credit: Sir Isaac Newton.

Sincere thanks to Jim Waggener, Wildlife Survey Coordinator for The Audubon Society of Northern Virginia, as well as other members of Jim’s survey group for sharing information that enabled me to find this rare to uncommon species of dragonfly. The group has surveyed four sites in Northern Virginia regularly for many years, including the one where I shot the following photographs.

No. 1

Fine-lined Emerald dragonflies seem to prefer perching on bare tree branches or long stems of wild grass, typically at chest- or head-height although not exclusively. For example, this guy was perched about waist-high on a cluster of fallen tree branches.

10 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

(See a full-size version of the original photo, without annotation.)

Fine-lined Emerald seems to prefer perching in sun rather than shade, unlike Mocha Emerald (Somatochlora linearis) — another species from the Family Corduliidae (Emeralds) found in Northern Virginia that prefers shady places.

The following ventral-lateral shot shows the lines on the thorax for which this species is named.

10 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

(See a full-size version of the original photo, without annotation.)

No. 2

The male shown in the next photo is perched on a long grass stem, about chest-high. He posed for two shots, patrolled back-and-forth a few times, and then disappeared.

10 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

No. 3

The last male was the most cooperative model. The first photo was taken at a distance of approximately six feet.

10 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

The next photo was taken a step-or-so closer…

10 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

And after a few side steps, I was able to take a good lateral shot.

10 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

The Backstory

This might be one of those stories in which the take-away is “persistence pays dividends.”

I made two trips to this site during Fall 2016 when Fine-lined Emerald was my target species. On 21 September 2016, I spotted one or more dragonflies (species unknown) patrolling the treetops along one of the trails at the park. I didn’t see any signs of Fine-lined Emerald on 25 October 2016, consistent with records for late-date maintained by Kevin Munroe (04 October for Northern Virginia) and Dr. Steven Roble (15 October for the Commonwealth of Virginia).

In retrospect, I realized I started searching too late in the year during 2016 so I started earlier in 2017. My first trip to the site was on 30 August 2017; it turned out to be fruitless. I hit the jackpot on 10 September 2017! Fine-lined Emerald is a new species for my life list of dragonflies.

Rare to Uncommon

A distribution map of official records for Fine-lined Emerald helps to illustrate its classification as a rare to uncommon species of odonate.

DSA Distribution Viewer | Fine-lined Emerald (Somatochlora filosa)

Source Credit: Abbott, J.C. 2006-2017. OdonataCentral: An online resource for the distribution and identification of Odonata. Available at http://www.odonatacentral.org. (Accessed: September 14, 2017).

Key: blue dots = Dot Map Project; green dots = Accepted records; yellow dots = Pending records.

Related Resources

• Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly redux (Part 1)
• Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly redux (Part 2)

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Springtime Darner (terminal appendages)

Male and female Springtime Darner dragonflies (Basiaeschna janata) are colored similarly sometimes. Terminal appendages can be used to identify gender.

Male

Male dragonflies have three terminal appendages, collectively called “claspers,” that are used to grab and hold female dragonflies during mating: an upper pair of cerci (“superior appendages”); and a lower unpaired epiproct (“inferior appendage”).

A male Springtime Darner was spotted along a mid-size rocky stream located at Hemlock Overlook Regional Park (HORP), Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

03 MAY 2017 | HORP | Springtime Darner (male)

(See a full-size version of the original photo, without annotation.)

Female

Female dragonflies have a pair of cerci (superior appendages) that have little or no function.

Female Springtime Darners are polymorphic: the spots on their abdomen are either blue (andromorphic) or green (heteromorphic); this female — spotted at a remote location in Huntley Meadows Park (HMP) — is a blue andromorph.

15 APR 2016 | HMP | Springtime Darner (female, blue andromorph)

(See a full-size version of the original photo, without annotation.)

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.