Twin-spotted Spiketail dragonfly (male)

A Twin-spotted Spiketail dragonfly (Cordulegaster maculata) was spotted at Occoquan Regional Park in Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is a male, as indicated by his terminal appendages and “indented” hind wings.

07 MAY 2018 | Occoquan Regional Park | Twin-spotted Spiketail (male)

Those who know me well are familiar with one of many “Walterisms”: “I haven’t ‘seen’ something until I have photographed it.” My rationale is two-fold: 1) A photograph verifies a sighting. 2) The detail visible in a good photograph exceeds the acuity of the human eye.

Although I’m fairly certain I’ve seen a Twin-spotted Spiketail at another location, this is the first time I was fortunate to photograph the species. Twin-spotted Spiketail is relatively uncommon in Northern Virginia.

07 MAY 2018 | Occoquan Regional Park | Twin-spotted Spiketail (male)

The last two photos show what might be the same male shown in the first two photos, but it might be another male. As Mike Powell and I were photographing the first male, another dragonfly swooped in and there was either a brief aerial ballet or battle, depending upon whether the second dragonfly was a female or male. I visually tracked the first dragonfly to a new perch about 10 feet away.

07 MAY 2018 | Occoquan Regional Park | Twin-spotted Spiketail (male)

When I started to move toward the new perch, Mike shouted “Don’t move, don’t move!” Mike had spotted another Twin-spotted Spiketail that landed close to the place where I spotted the first one.

07 MAY 2018 | Occoquan Regional Park | Twin-spotted Spiketail (male)

We didn’t have much time to shoot photos. This Twin-spotted Spiketail and another one hooked up and they flew in wheel toward the nearby treetops. The mating process for Twin-spotted Spiketails lasts about an hour, a fact that may explain why we never saw another Twin-spotted during our photowalk.

Related Resources: Digital Dragonflies, presenting high-resolution digital scans of living dragonflies.

• Genus Cordulegaster | Cordulegaster maculata | Twin-spotted Spiketail | male | top view
• Genus Cordulegaster | Cordulegaster maculata | Twin-spotted Spiketail | male | side view
• Genus Cordulegaster | Cordulegaster maculata | Twin-spotted Spiketail | female | top view
• Genus Cordulegaster | Cordulegaster maculata | Twin-spotted Spiketail | female | side view

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Tags: Cordulegaster maculata, Family Cordulegastridae (Spiketails), male, Occoquan Regional Park, terminal appendages, Twin-spotted Spiketail dragonfly