Common Whitetail dragonflies (Plathemis lydia) are like bad guests at a party — they are among the first odonates to arrive in spring and among the last to leave in fall. Unlike bad guests, it’s good to see Common Whitetails after a long, cold winter and you have to admire the fact that they survived a long, hot summer.
22 OCT 2017 | HMP | Common Whitetail (mature female)
The preceding photograph shows a Common Whitetail dragonfly that was spotted near a vernal pool at a remote location in Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is a mature female, as indicated by her terminal appendages and pattern of wing spots.
Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: Common Whitetail dragonfly, Family Libellulidae (Skimmers), Huntley Meadows Park, mature female, Plathemis lydia, terminal appendages, vernal pool
walter sanford's photoblog 
October 31, 2017 at 4:06 am |
So beautiful. I thought it looked like glass and when my husband looked at it that was the first thing he said as well!
October 31, 2017 at 10:47 am |
Thanks! I don’t post many photos of Common Whitetail dragonflies because they are so, well, common. I was pleasantly surprised to see two females during my photowalk around a vernal pool.