A male Blue Dasher was spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell along Deephole Point Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge (OBNWR), Prince William County, Virginia USA.
15 SEP 2020 | OBNWR | Blue Dasher (male)
This male was perched about a foot above my head, observing all that passed before him along the road — reminds me of a scene from Titanic, the movie. “I’m the king of the world!”
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Although there’s nothing common about the palette of colors for Common Buckeye butterflies (Junonia coenia), somehow it just works. I think their coloration seems to shout “fall.”
15 SEP 2020 | OBNWR | Common Buckeye butterfly
The preceding photo shows a Common Buckeye spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge (OBNWR), Prince William County, Virginia USA.
Most of the Common Buckeye that Mike and I spotted seemed to be especially skittish — they flew away as soon as I moved into position to take some shots. This one was a little more cooperative, albeit poorly posed for a perfect photo. Oh well!
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
A Big Bluet damselfly (Enallagma durum) was spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell along Deephole Point Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge (OBNWR), Prince William County, Virginia USA.
This individual — one of hundreds, if not thousands we saw while hunting for a rare to uncommon species of dragonfly — is a male, as indicated by his blue and black coloration and terminal appendages.
Ideal habitat for Big Bluet is as follows.
Habitat Large sandy lakes and lower reaches of rivers, even extending into brackish estuaries. Source Credit: Paulson, Dennis (2011-12-19). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East (Princeton Field Guides) (Kindle Locations 2156-2157). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.
Think large, tidal rivers and bays. I have observed E. durum at Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve, Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge, and Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Related Resources: Excellent digital scans created by Gayle and Jeanelle Strickland. Click on the button labeled “Download file” in order to view/save a full-size version of the graphics.
Sidebar: Scientific Classification of Damselflies
The following concise explanation of the scientific classification of damselflies is provided to help the reader understand where the genus Enallagma (American Bluets) fits into the bigger picture of the Order Odonata, Suborder Zygoptera (Damselflies).
There are four families of damselflies in the United States of America (USA), although only three families occur in the mid-Atlantic USA: Broad-winged damselflies; Narrow-winged damselflies (a.k.a., Pond Damselflies); and Spreadwing damselflies.
Note: Family Platystictidae (Shadowdamsels) is the fourth family of damselflies in the USA. Desert Shadowdamsel (Palaemnema domina) is the only member of this family. P. domina is rare, known to occur only in Arizona in the southwestern United States.
1. Family Calopterygidae is comprised of two genera.
2. Family Coenagrionidae is comprised of 14 genera. Three genera are common in Northern Virginia: Argia (Dancers); Enallagma (American Bluets); and Ischnura (Forktails).
3. Family Lestidae is comprised of two genera.
There are relatively few genera of Broad-winged Damselflies and Spreadwing Damselflies. In contrast, there are many more genera and species of Narrow-winged Damselflies — more species, including many that look similar, makes this family the most challenging to learn!
Related Resource: “The Odonata of North America” is a complete list of both scientific names and common names for damselflies and dragonflies, maintained by the Dragonfly Society of the Americas.
An interactive version of the same species list is available from the Odonata Central Web site. The master list can be filtered in many ways. Location is perhaps the most useful filter.
For example, my good friend Mike Boatwright lives in Amherst County, Virginia USA. Click on the blue button labeled “Filter Results.” Then click the down arrow in the Location field, enter “Amherst” and select the complete location name that appears in a list of available options; click the “Apply Filtering” button. You should see a list of 97 species of odonates reported to occur in Amherst County, including 10 species in the genus Enallagma. Notice that Big Bluet isn’t on the list, although there are several species of Enallagma that aren’t found where I live in Fairfax County, Virginia USA.
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
A Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) was spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell along Deephole Point Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge (OBNWR), Prince William County, Virginia USA.
15 SEP 2020 | OBNWR | Great Blue Skimmer (old female)
This individual is an old female, as indicated by her coloration and terminal appendages.
Oh the old gray mare
She ain’t what she used to be
Like a fine wine, she’s aged to perfection!
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
I would, and I did. Several miles, in fact.
Approximately 4 miles of gravel roads are reserved for foot traffic only. The wildlife drive is a one way, 2-mile loop. Source Credit: General brochure, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
It’s hard to believe there was a time in the United States of America that tobacco companies were allowed to advertise in both electronic- and print media. I was 12 years old when this “I’d walk a mile for a Camel” commercial was shown on broadcast television in 1966. Paraphrasing the TV commercial, “Clubtail hunters, you know what I mean. You other guys, start walking.”
Did I lose you with my little trip down memory lane? Like Camel cigarettes, I wouldn’t walk a mile for just any clubtail dragonfly. But for this relatively uncommon handsome devil, definitely!
15 SEP 2020 | OBNWR | Russet-tipped Clubtail (male)
The Backstory
A Russet-tipped Clubtail dragonfly (Stylurus plagiatus) was spotted by Michael Powell during a long photowalk at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge (OBNWR). This individual is a male, as indicated by his “indented” hind wings and terminal appendages.
By the time I caught up to Mike, the somewhat skittish Russet-tipped Clubtail flew away. I thought I saw the dragonfly fly through an opening in a line of trees along a gravel road. I walked to the other side of the tree line to look for the elusive dragonfly, one of two target species for the day. Mike followed along behind me. Seeing nothing, I gave up too soon. Fortunately Mike was more persistent and rediscovered the Russet-tipped male farther along the backside of the treeline. This time, Mr. Skittish was a little more cooperative.
American Sweetgum
The dragonfly is perched on an American Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) tree. Thanks to Mike Boatwright and Drew Chaney for confirming my tentative identification based upon the distinctive shape of the tree leaves. Sweetgum leaves turn spectacular colors during fall (see Related Resources, below).
Related Resources
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
An Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis) was spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell along Deephole Point Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge (OBNWR).
This individual is a female, as indicated by her green coloration and white terminal appendages.
15 SEP 2020 | OBNWR | Eastern Pondhawk (female)
Look closely at the full-size version of the preceding photo. Notice the subgenital plate, a black upside-down “shark fin” located beneath abdominal segment eight.
Underneath Segment 8 there is either an ovipositor or a subgenital plate, depending upon the species [of dragonfly]. Both structures are for laying eggs and extend over Segment 9 and possibly beyond. Source Credit: Dragonflies of the North Woods, by Kurt Mead.
Remember that “Segment 8 and 9” refers to abdominal segments eight and nine (of 10), numbered from front-to-back.
Related Resource: Eastern Pondhawk dragonflies, a photo-illustrated guide to the identification of male- and female terminal appendages.
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
18 AUG 2020 | JMAWR | Slaty Skimmer (male)
The preceding photo shows a Slaty Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula incesta) that was spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell near Mulligan Pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge (JMAWR) in Fairfax County, Virginia USA.
This individual is a mature male, as indicated by his coloration, tattered wings, and terminal appendages.
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Ubiquitous. Yep, that’s Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis).
18 AUG 2020 | JMAWR | Blue Dasher (male)
A male Blue Dasher was spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell around Mulligan Pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge (JMAWR) in Fairfax County, Virginia USA.
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
A Common Whitetail dragonfly (Plathemis lydia) was spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell around Mulligan Pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge (JMAWR) in Fairfax County, Virginia USA.
This individual is a mature male, as indicated by his coloration, pattern of wing spots, and terminal appendages.
18 AUG 2020 | JMAWR | Common Whitetail (mature male)
“Common Whitetail” is one of a few common names for odonates that makes perfect sense, at least for males. This species is found commonly in lentic habitats. It’s one of the first species to emerge during spring and one of the last to disappear in fall.
Although Common Whitetail is easy to find, it can be challenging to photograph mature males without blowing out the highlights in their bright white abdomen.
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
I noticed some beautiful little wildflowers as I was photographing the Black and Yellow Argiope featured in my last blog post. Sometimes you need to stop and smell the “banana flowers.” Huh?
I maintain a simple text file called “Photowalking Field Notes.” After every photowalk or studio photo session, I record the date, location, photo gear, and of course, what I saw and photographed. Sometimes I see things that I’m unable to photograph (e.g., Tiger Spiketail dragonflies), so “saw” and “photographed” aren’t necessarily the same. Although I use keywords in both Apple Aperture and Adobe Lightroom, searchable text is a quick and easy way to find photos I have taken.
My field note for this photo is “light purple wildflower <– banana flower” because the yellow plant centers [insert correct name for plant anatomy here] remind me of a hand of bananas.
18 AUG 2020 | JMAWR | Solanum carolinense wildflowers
The preceding photo is simply a “record shot” of a wildflower I never noticed. I contacted “Plant Man Drew” Chaney for help with identification.
I met Drew at the Dragonfly Society of the Americas 2017 DSA Annual Meeting in Staunton, Virginia USA. Drew is an excellent all-around naturalist with considerable expertise in botany.
Drew quickly identified the wildflowers as Solanum carolinense. Most of the flowers in my photo appear a little past peak, based upon images featured on the reference Web page Drew provided. As always, thanks for your help, Drew — it is sincerely appreciated!
The Backstory
The wildflowers shown above were spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell around Mulligan Pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge (JMAWR) in Fairfax County, Virginia USA.
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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