Dragonhunter (female)

A Dragonhunter dragonfly (Hagenius brevistylus) was spotted at South Fork Quantico Creek along “South Valley Trail,” Prince William Forest Park, Prince William County, Virginia USA.

21 JUN 2019 | Prince William Forest Park | Dragonhunter (female)

This individual is a female, although it is difficult to see some critical field marks from the viewpoint in the preceding photo. Thanks to Michael Boatwright, founder and administrator of the Virginia Odonata Facebook group, for confirming my tentative identification of the gender.

Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

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Another Arrowhead Spiketail (female)

An Arrowhead Spiketail dragonfly (Cordulegaster obliqua) was spotted in a sunny clearing along a small-to-medium size forest stream at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.

14 JUN 2019 | PNC. William County, VA | Arrowhead Spiketail (female)

This individual is a female, as indicated by her rounded hind wings, terminal appendages, and prominent ovipositor at the tip of her abdomen.

14 JUN 2019 | PNC. William County, VA | Arrowhead Spiketail (female)

Did you recognize the interrupted fern (Osmunda claytoniana) in the background of every photo in this gallery?

14 JUN 2019 | PNC. William County, VA | Arrowhead Spiketail (female)

The Backstory

Mike Powell and I stopped to use GPS to get a fix on our position at the end of a long photowalk that included lots of bushwhacking. We stopped because the small stream we were exploring was getting wider and deeper the farther we walked downstream, and we decided the stream habitat had changed to be less suitable for our target species.

The place where we stopped is a sunny meadow near the confluence of a tiny side stream with the larger stream we were following. As Mike was testing a few GPS apps for his Android cell phone, I noticed a big dragonfly as it flew down the tiny stream, turned left past us, and landed in the sunny meadow. I found the dragonfly after a few minutes of searching the area where I saw it land. I was hoping for a Tiger Spiketail (Cordulegaster erronea) but nonetheless delighted to see a female Arrowhead Spiketail — our second record of this species for the year at the remote location!

Related Resource: Arrowhead Spiketail dragonfly (female)

Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Gray Petaltail dragonfly (male)

Gray Petaltail dragonflies (Tachopteryx thoreyi) have a well-known preference for perching on gray or tan colored surfaces, including gray or tan colored clothing.

Most of the photos of Gray Petaltail featured in my blog show them perched on gray/grayish surfaces. In contrast, the following Gray Petaltail is perched on a mostly tan colored tree.

21 MAY 2019 | PNC. William County, VA | Gray Petaltail (male)

This individual — spotted in a sunny clearing along a small forest stream at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA — is a male, as indicated by his “indented” hind wings, and terminal appendages.

The preceding photo is uncropped, that is, full resolution for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 superzoom bridge camera (4,000 x 3,000 pixels). Needless to say, I was fairly close to this cooperative subject!

Related Resource: Posts Tagged ‘Gray Petaltail dragonfly’

Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Common Sanddragon dragonfly (male)

A Common Sanddragon dragonfly (Progomphus obscurus) was spotted by my good friend Mike Powell during a photowalk along a small forest stream at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.

I was standing in the creek looking toward the sandy shoreline where the Common Sanddragon was perching.

14 JUN 2019 | PNC. William County, VA | Common Sanddragon (male)

This individual is a male, as indicated by his “indented” hind wings and terminal appendages.

14 JUN 2019 | PNC. William County, VA | Common Sanddragon (male)

Both of the photos featured in this blog post are uncropped, that is, full resolution for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 superzoom bridge camera (4,000 x 3,000 pixels).

Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Aurora Damsel (mating pair, in heart)

The mating pair of Aurora Damsel (Chromagrion conditum) shown in the following photograph is “in wheel,” in which the male uses “claspers” (terminal appendages) at the end of his abdomen to hold the female by her neck/thorax while they are joined at their abdomens. The male — blue, yellow, and black in color — is on top; the female — yellow and black in color — is on the bottom.

The copulatory, or wheel, position is unique to the Odonata, as is the distant separation of the male’s genital opening and copulatory organs. Source Credit: Paulson, Dennis (2011-12-19). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East (Princeton Field Guides) (Kindle Locations 377-378). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.

The wheel position is sometimes referred to as “in heart” when damselflies mate.

04 JUN 2019 | PNC. William County, VA | Aurora Damsel (mating pair)

Female C. conditum is polymorphic, including two morphs: an andromorph with blue coloration similar to male; or a heteromorph with an entirely yellow thorax, as shown above.

It’s helpful to take photos of mating pairs of damselflies, especially “in wheel,” since males and females of the same species can look quite different.

Taxonomy

C. conditum is a monotypic genus in the Family Coenagrionidae (Narrow-winged Damselflies).

Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Painted Skimmer dragonfly (female)

A Painted Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula semifasciata) was observed during a photowalk with my good friend Mike Powell along a small forest stream at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.

04 JUN 2019 | PNC. William County, VA | Painted Skimmer (female)

This individual is a female, as indicated by her terminal appendages. Notice her right hind wing is slightly malformed near the body. It appears the wing failed to inflate completely during emergence. The malformation didn’t impair her ability to fly.

Did you recognize the interrupted fern (Osmunda claytoniana) in the background?

Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

“Grays” come in peace.

A Gray Petaltail dragonfly (Tachopteryx thoreyi) was spotted during a photowalk with Mike Powell at Occoquan Regional Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

This individual is a male, as indicated by its “indented” hind wings and terminal appendages. The male is perched on the left sleeve of Mike’s gray “Army” logo t-shirt. I nicknamed this Gray “The Gripper” because Mike said he could feel the dragonfly tightening its grip on a small fold in the t-shirt.

01 JUN 2019 | Occoquan Regional Park | Gray Petaltail (male)

“Grays”

If you look into the eyes of a Gray Petaltail dragonfly at close range, then you might agree with me that they look like the space aliens known as “Grays.” Hey, I’m just saying — Mike might have experienced a close encounter of the Gray kind!

Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Eastern Copperhead

It’s almost inevitable: If you spend time in “Copperhead Country,” then you will see Copperheads. We do, and eventually we did.

An Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) was observed during a photowalk with my good friend Mike Powell along a small forest stream at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.

The first photo was taken as I peered cautiously over the edge of the fallen tree. I estimate the snake is approximately three feet long from head-to-tail — around the maximum size for this species.

04 JUN 2019 | PNC. William County, VA | Eastern Copperhead

The last photo shows a little closer zoom and crop on the snake.

04 JUN 2019 | PNC. William County, VA | Eastern Copperhead

Did you notice the fearless fly perched on the snake’s body?

The Backstory

Although it’s easy to see where Copperhead gets one of its many common names, it can be difficult to see them in some places in their natural habitat.

In this case, the snake was resting alongside a large fallen tree. Mike noticed the Copperhead after he crossed over the tree. Considering our remote location, we were very fortunate Mike didn’t step on the venomous snake.

See Eastern Copperhead for Mike Powell’s take on our close encounter of the Copperhead kind — it was both exciting and scary at the same time!

Related Resources

• Safety Precautions in Copperhead Country [PDF]
• Venomous Snake Bite Information [PDF]

Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (female)

An Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis) was spotted during a photowalk with Mike Powell at Occoquan Regional Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is a female, as indicated by her terminal appendages.

01 JUN 2019 | Occoquan Regional Park | Eastern Pondhawk (female)

Beginners beware — immature male Eastern Pondhawks are the same color as females of the same species.

Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Painted Skimmer dragonfly (female)

A Painted Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula semifasciata) was observed during a photowalk with my good friend Mike Powell along a small forest stream at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.

21 MAY 2019 | PNC. William County, VA | Painted Skimmer (female)

This individual is a female, as indicated by her terminal appendages.

Habitat

Look for Painted Skimmer near some sort of water body in the forest, such as a vernal pool or small streams and ponds.

Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.