Dragonfly Curriculum Guide Supplemental Videos

One of my photos is featured in a new video entitled Determining Dragonfly Sex: Dragonfly video 15, by Dr. Ami Thompson. See the inset photo in the following video screen capture.

Determining Dragonfly Sex: Dragonfly video 15, by Ami Thompson.

The video is one of 15 Dragonfly Curriculum Guide Supplemental Videos coproduced by Ami Thompson and Peter Xyooj. The Dragonfly Curriculum Guide (PDF) is available for free.

Notice my last name is misspelled in the credits at the end of the video: Stanford is an institution; I should be institutionalized. <Rim shot!> Oh well, at least my name is spelled correctly in the video screen capture shown above.

Determining Dragonfly Sex: Dragonfly video 15, by Ami Thompson.

The inset photo is from “Mocha Emerald dragonfly claspers,” a blog post that I published on 13 July 2017.

09 JUL 2017 | Huntley Meadows Park | Mocha Emerald (male)

Related Resources

• Dragonfly Curriculum Guide Supplemental Videos, coproduced by Ami Thompson and Peter Xyooj.
• Dragonfly Curriculum Guide (PDF), by Ami Thompson.
• Mocha Emerald dragonfly claspers, a blog post by Walter Sanford.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Twin-spotted Spiketail (terminal appendages)

Male

All 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”).

Male members of the Family Cordulegastridae (Spiketails), including male Twin-spotted Spiketail dragonflies (Cordulegaster maculata), have relatively small cerci (terminal appendages) that can be mistaken for female cerci.

07 MAY 2018 | Fairfax County, VA | Twin-spotted Spiketail (male)

Male dragonfly secondary genitalia, called hamules, are located below abdominal segments two and three (S2 and S3), as shown in the following annotated image. Hamules come in a variety of sizes and shapes, but their function is identical for all species of odonates.

07 MAY 2018 | Fairfax County, VA | Twin-spotted Spiketail (male)

Female

As far as I know I have never seen a female Twin-Spotted Spiketail. (I have seen several individuals that I was unable to photograph.) No problem. Mike Boatwright kindly allowed me to annotate a couple of his photographs.

Photo used with written permission from Mike Boatwright.

These individuals are female, as indicated by their rounded hind wings, terminal appendages, and prominent subgenital plate (ovipositor) at the tip of their abdomen.

Photo used with written permission from Mike Boatwright.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Arrowhead Spiketail (terminal appendages)

Arrowhead Spiketail dragonflies (Cordulegaster obliqua) were spotted along small streams at undisclosed locations in Fairfax County and Prince William County, Virginia USA.

Male and female Arrowhead Spiketails are similar in appearance. They can be differentiated based upon several field marks.

Male

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

07 JUL 2014 | Fairfax County | Arrowhead Spiketail (male)

Arrowhead male and female cerci are similar in appearance, and it can be challenging to see the epiproct clearly from some viewpoints. When in doubt whether an individual is male or female, look for indentations at the base of the hind wings of males.

07 JUL 2014 | Fairfax County | Arrowhead Spiketail (male)

Female

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

21 MAY 2019 | PNC. Wm. County | Arrowhead Spiketail (female)

Although Arrowhead male and female cerci are similar in appearance, there is no mistaking the subgenital plate of female spiketails! It’s easy to see why “Spiketails” is the common name for Family Cordulegastridae.

21 MAY 2019 | PNC. Wm. County | Arrowhead Spiketail (female)

So the take-away is simple: If you see a subgenital plate then the individual is definitely female; if not, then it’s probably a male.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Yellow-sided Skimmer (terminal appendages)

Female and male Yellow-sided Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula flavida) were spotted at a small pond at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.

Female

The first individual is a female, as indicated by her mostly yellow coloration and terminal appendages.

17 JUN 2021 | PNC. Wm. County | Yellow-sided Skimmer (female)

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

Mature male

The last individual is a mature male, as indicated by his light-blue pruinescence and terminal appendages.

17 JUN 2021 | PNC. Wm. County | Yellow-sided Skimmer (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”).

Immature male Yellow-sided Skimmers look similar to females of the same species. Terminal appendages can be used to differentiate the sex of immature males and mature females.

Related Resource: Yellow-sided Skimmer (male and female) – a blog post by Walter Sanford.

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Anatomy of a male Tiger Spiketail

The following annotated image shows a Tiger Spiketail dragonfly (Cordulegaster erronea). This individual is a male, as indicated by his hamules, “indented” hind wings, and terminal appendages.

Hamules

Hamules? What are hamules?

hamules: paired structures that project from genital pocket under second segment and hold female abdomen in place during copulation Source Credit: Paulson, Dennis (2011-12-19). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East (Princeton Field Guides) (Kindle Locations 11618-116198). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.

Male dragonfly secondary genitalia, called hamules, are located below abdominal segments two and three (S2 and S3), as shown in the following annotated image. Hamules come in a variety of sizes and shapes, but their function is identical for all species of odonates. Some species of dragonflies and damselflies — such as Ashy Clubtail versus Lancet Clubtail and Southern Spreadwing versus Sweetflag Spreadwing, to name a few — can be differentiated/identified with certainty only by examining the hamules under magnification.

Photo used with written permission from Michael Powell.

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

Indented hind wings

Male members of many families of dragonflies have “indented” hind wings near the body, with some notable exceptions.

Hind wing venation and shape can identify the sex of most dragonflies. Petaltails, darners (except Anax), clubtails, spiketails, cruisers, and some emeralds. Wing shape isn’t helpful to sex baskettails since they are largely the same. They are different in Cordulia, Dorocordulia, Somatochlora and to a lesser degree, Neurocordulia. Source Credit: Ed Lam, author and illustrator of Damselflies of the Northeast.

Terminal appendages

Identifying female versus male dragonflies and damselflies can be challenging but it’s a little easier when you know how to differentiate their terminal appendages.

All 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”). Male dragonfly terminal appendages don’t look exactly the same for all species of dragonflies, but their function is identical.

Generally speaking, spiketail dragonflies have relatively small terminal appendages. That said, they must get the job done!

Related Resource: Tiger Spiketail dragonfly (male) – a blog post by Walter Sanford.

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

 

Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (male)

A Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes) was photographed near the shoreline of a small pond at an undisclosed location in Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

This individual is a male, as indicated by his terminal appendages. 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”).

For those of you keeping score at home, notice male Unicorn terminal appendages have four points/prongs. Does that mean A. villosipes is an exception to the rule of three terminal appendages for male dragonflies? In a word, no.

05 JUN 2021 | Fairfax County, VA | Unicorn Clubtail (male)

The preceding photo shows a clear view of the male’s terminal appendages. Zoom-in on the full-size version of the photo and you should notice that the epiproct for Unicorn Clubtail is essentially a wide plate with two points/prongs.

Related Resource: Odonate Terminal Appendages – a permanent reference page in my blog featuring identification guides for most of the common species of odonates found in Virginia, and even some of the uncommon to rare species.

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

 

Selys’s Sundragon dragonfly (male)

I discovered a Selys’ Sundragon dragonfly (Helocordulia selysii) during a recent photowalk with Michael Powell at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA. Selys’s Sundragon is a new species for my Life List of odonates and for Prince William County, VA. [Odonata Species (p. 1 of 2) — current as of 14 April 2021 — shows part of the species list for Prince William County before Selys’s was added.]

This individual is a male with a malformed abdomen. Notice his abdomen is twisted so that the terminal appendages aren’t in their usual alignment. The cerci should be on top and the epiproct should be on the bottom; they aren’t where they should be.

13 APR 2021 | Prince William County, VA | Selys’s Sundragon (male)

All male dragonflies have three terminal appendages, collectively called “claspers,” that are used to grab and hold female dragonflies during mating. Male dragonfly terminal appendages don’t look exactly the same for all species of dragonflies, but their function is identical. The misalignment of this Selys’s terminal appendages might be a problem when attempting to form the “wheel position” with females.

The Backstory

Mike Powell and I were men on a mission to photograph Uhler’s Sundragon dragonflies (Helocordulia uhleri). The sky was completely overcast when we arrived at our destination. According to the weather forecast, the sky was supposed to clear around 1:00 pm, and sure enough it did. Soon afterward, we spotted our first Uhler’s of the day and spent some time photographing several individuals.

All of the Uhler’s we saw were female. At some point I said to Mike (paraphrasing) “I need to photograph at least one male before we leave!” I walked a little farther downstream from a place where Mike was shooting macro photos of a very cooperative female Uhler’s. That’s when I spotted the male shown in the preceding photo.

My first impression was the dragonfly seemed to be noticeably smaller than the female Uhler’s we had been photographing. Turns out I was right! According to Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East by Dennis Paulson, Uhler’s are 41-46 mm in total length (4.1-4.6 cm) and Selys’s are 38-41 mm in total length (3.8-4.1 cm). For those of you keeping score at home, that’s only ~1.5″ long — small for many if not most dragonflies!

Related Resource: Selys’s Sundragon dragonfly – a blog post by Michael Powell, my good friend and photowalking buddy.

Copyright © 2021 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.

“Post Focus” images: Shadow Darner dragonfly

Bob Perkins collected and reared a Shadow Darner dragonfly (Aeshna umbrosa) larva/nymph. This blog post features two focus-stacked composite images of a beautifully preserved specimen of the adult that emerged from the larva.

Each composite image was created from 30 TIF files extracted from a one-second MP4 video of the subject, “photographed” using my new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 digital camera set for “Post Focus.”

Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa) | dorsal view

This individual is a male, as indicated by his terminal appendages and “indented” hind wings (shown above). All male dragonflies have three terminal appendages, collectively called “claspers”: the two cerci are missing (they broke off the terminal end of the abdomen during shipping); the epiproct is intact.

Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa) | dorsal-lateral view

Takeaways

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from on-going experimentation with Panasonic “Post Focus” is that the process continues to impress — it works quickly (typically one second or so) and works well, using lightweight, inexpensive equipment for making composite images of acceptable quality.

What’s not to like? The obvious answer: The image quality isn’t as high as comparable images created using HEAVY and EXPENSIVE camera gear in the controlled environment of a photo studio. On the other hand, I know from experience I’m unlikely to lug all of that gear into the field. I call it a BIG WIN to have found a relatively lightweight, inexpensive camera kit that does essentially the same job almost as well!

The next test: Use adult dragonflies in the wild as the subject. Regrettably, that will have to wait until the first odonates begin emerging during early spring.

Related Resources

• More testing: Panasonic “Post Focus”
• Testing: Panasonic “Post Focus”
• Composite image: Shadow Darner dragonfly

Tech Tips

The following equipment was used to shoot the “photos” for creation of the composite images, shown above: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 digital camera set for “Post Focus“; and two Sunpak LED-160 Video Lights.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 was used to create the preceding focus-stacked composite images, as well as spot-heal and sharpen the final output.

Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Field marks for identification of S. rogersi

The following annotated images illustrate field marks that can be used for identification of Sable Clubtail dragonfly (Stenogomphurus rogersi). Although there is some redundancy among the images, repetition is a good strategy for learning.

Male

Male Sable Clubtails have eyes that are green to turquoise in color, with a black occiput located between the eyes. They have a thin, black abdomen that flares to a small club featuring thin yellow flanges on abdominal segments seven through nine (S7-9).

The abdomen is marked with small pale dorsal triangles (S3-7) and tiny pale lateral spots. The number of dorsal triangles can vary individually and/or geographically, ranging from S3-5 to S3-7.

08 JUN 2018 | Fairfax County, VA | Sable Clubtail (male)

Dennis Paulson, originator of the classification system for thoracic stripes in the Family Gomphidae (Clubtails), describes T1-4 as follows.

T1–2 broad and complete, touching at ends and often with stripe between them restricted and topped with spot; T3–4 fine, T3 incomplete. Source Credit: Paulson, Dennis (2011-12-19). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East (Princeton Field Guides) (Kindle Locations 6089-6093). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.

Note: T1-4 refers to the dark areas located on the sides of the thorax, not the lighter colored lines and spots. Due to space limitations, thoracic stripes are labeled using a numeral only (e.g., “1”) rather than a letter and numeral (e.g., “T1”).

08 JUN 2018 | Fairfax County, VA | Sable Clubtail (male)

Their face is pale, marked with variable black crosslines (as shown in the inset photo, below).

08 JUN 2018 | Fairfax County, VA | Sable Clubtail (male)

Male Sable Clubtails, like all male dragonflies, have three terminal appendages, collectively called “claspers.” All male clubtail dragonflies have indented hind wings.

Female

Female Sable Clubtails have a noticeably thicker abdomen than males. The occiput is a pale color, rather than black. Dorsal triangles, located on abdominal segments three through seven (S3-7), are much larger than those found on males. The lateral spots are somewhat larger as well.

05 JUL 2018 | Fairfax County, VA | Sable Clubtail (female)

Female Sable Clubtails, like all female dragonflies, have a pair of cerci (superior appendages) that have little or no function. All female clubtail dragonflies have rounded hind wings.

Related Resource: Stenogomphurus rogersi exuvia.

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.