Posts Tagged ‘Needham’s Skimmer dragonfly’
July 5, 2019
A Needham’s Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula needhami) was spotted at Occoquan Regional Park (ORP), Fairfax County, Virginia USA.
This individual is an immature male, as indicated by his coloration and terminal appendages. The yellowish-red coloration of this specimen could mislead you into thinking it’s a female. Be aware that the same species of dragonfly may appear differently depending upon gender, age, and natural variation.
At this stage in the male’s maturation, his coloration is similar to females of the same species. As a mature male, the front of his thorax and abdomen will be covered by red pruinescence.
Related Resource: Posts Tagged ‘Needham’s Skimmer dragonfly’
Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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Tags:Family Libellulidae (Skimmers), immature male, Libellula needhami, Needham's Skimmer dragonfly, pruinescence, terminal appendages
Posted in Aperture, Canon 430EX II Speedlite, digital photography, dragonflies, education, Lightroom, natural science, Panasonic DMC-FZ300, Photoshop, photowalking, wildlife photography | 2 Comments »
August 21, 2018
A Needham’s Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula needhami) was spotted during a brief photowalk at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA. This individual is a mature female, as indicated by her terminal appendages, muted coloration, and slightly tattered wings.
Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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Tags:Family Libellulidae (Skimmers), Libellula needhami, mature female, Needham's Skimmer dragonfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, terminal appendages
Posted in Aperture, Canon 580EX Speedlite, digital photography, dragonflies, natural science, Panasonic DMC-FZ150, Photoshop, photowalking, wildlife photography | Leave a Comment »
August 11, 2018
Dragonflies seem to have no understanding of either personal space or property rights. Of course that’s only part of their appeal!
I stopped for a drink of water during a brief photowalk at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA. A Needham’s Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula needhami) landed on the tip of my Sunpak 6700M aluminum monopod, lying on a Coleman camp stool.
This individual is a mature female, as indicated by her terminal appendages, muted coloration, and slightly tattered wings.
Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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Tags:Family Libellulidae (Skimmers), gear talk, Libellula needhami, mature female, Needham's Skimmer dragonfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, terminal appendages
Posted in Aperture, Canon 580EX Speedlite, digital photography, dragonflies, natural science, Panasonic DMC-FZ150, photowalking, wildlife photography | Leave a Comment »
July 6, 2018
A Needham’s Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula needhami) was spotted during a photowalk at Occoquan Regional Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.
This individual is a female, as indicated by her terminal appendages.
Female Needham’s Skimmers have a pair of flanges beneath their eighth abdominal segment that are used to scoop and hold a few drops of water when laying eggs (oviposition), hence the family name “Skimmer.” Remember that all dragonflies and damselflies have a 10-segmented abdomen, numbered from front to back.
The dragonfly was backlighted by the Sun. These photographs would have been impossible without the use of fill flash. Both photos are strong contenders for my Odonart© Portfolio.
Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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Tags:Family Libellulidae (Skimmers), female, flanges, Libellula needhami, Needham's Skimmer dragonfly, Occoquan Regional Park, Odonart, terminal appendages
Posted in Aperture, Canon 580EX Speedlite, digital photography, dragonflies, natural science, Panasonic DMC-FZ150, wildlife photography | 2 Comments »
September 25, 2017
In my experience, female Needham’s Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula needhami) seem to be more abundant than males toward the end of the adult flight period for that species.
Two Needham’s Skimmers were photographed during photowalks at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA. Both individuals are mature female, as indicated by their terminal appendages and muted coloration.
Post Update: Sincere thanks to Drew Chaney for identifying the flowering plant shown in the preceding photo. According to Drew, “It’s either Clematis terniflora or virginiana. I can’t tell without leaves: Terniflora has entire leaves; virginiana has toothed ones.”
Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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Tags:Family Libellulidae (Skimmers), Libellula needhami, mature female, Needham's Skimmer dragonfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, terminal appendages
Posted in Aperture, Canon 580EX Speedlite, digital photography, dragonflies, natural science, Panasonic DMC-FZ150, photowalking, wildlife photography | 2 Comments »
August 24, 2017
On Saturday, 25 January 2014, I had the honor of co-presenting a program called “Flying Dragons” with Kevin Munroe, former Park Manager, Huntley Meadows Park. Kevin invited me to talk about how to make the transition from a beginner- to intermediate/advanced-intermediate dragonfly hunter. I prepared a photoblog post related to my part of the program, called “Five steps to the next level of dragonfly spotting.” Step 1 is as follows.
Step 1. Be aware the same species of dragonfly may appear differently depending upon gender, age, and natural variation. Some species display sexual dimorphism; in contrast, both genders look virtually identical for some species. Finally, females of some species display polymorphism (also known as polychromatism).
Male Needham’s Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula needhami) look different depending upon age, as shown by the “Before” and “After” photos (below). Further, immature male Needham’s Skimmers look similar to immature/mature females of the same species. Although this might be confusing for a beginner dragonfly hunter, with patience and persistence everything falls into place relatively quickly.
Before
Male Needham’s Skimmers were photographed during photowalks at Painted Turtle Pond, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA in late-June and again in late-July. Notice the dramatic difference in appearance of the same species of dragonfly.
After
Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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Tags:Family Libellulidae (Skimmers), immature male, Libellula needhami, mature male, Needham's Skimmer dragonfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Painted Turtle Pond
Posted in Aperture, Canon 580EX Speedlite, digital photography, dragonflies, education, natural science, Panasonic DMC-FZ150, photowalking, wildlife photography | 2 Comments »
July 3, 2017
Lots of Needham’s Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula needhami) were spotted at Painted Turtle Pond, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.
This individual is an immature male, as indicated by its terminal appendages and yellow-ish coloration. Mature male Needham’s Skimmer dragonflies are red.
Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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Tags:Family Libellulidae (Skimmers), immature male, Libellula needhami, Needham's Skimmer dragonfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Painted Turtle Pond, terminal appendages
Posted in Aperture, Canon 580EX Speedlite, digital photography, dragonflies, natural science, Panasonic DMC-FZ150, photowalking, wildlife photography | 1 Comment »
September 6, 2016
Several Needham’s Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula needhami) were spotted during a photowalk at River Towers Condominiums (RTC), Fairfax County, Virginia USA.
Females
The following photos show two females, as indicated by their coloration and terminal appendages.
Notice the natural variation in the coloration of the two females.
Male
A single mature male was spotted near the location where the females were photographed.
Editor’s Note: This is the same location I described in “Ground truth,” posted on 02 March 2016. As I speculated in the post, by mid-July the banks of the stream were so choked with vegetation that I was unable to do more than work the edges of the thicket.
Copyright © 2016 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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Tags:female, Libellula needhami, mature male, Needham's Skimmer dragonfly, River Towers Condominiums, Skimmer Family, terminal appendages, wildlife photography
Posted in Aperture, Canon 580EX Speedlite, digital photography, dragonflies, natural science, Panasonic DMC-FZ150, photowalking | Leave a Comment »
September 4, 2016
Two Needham’s Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula needhami) were spotted during a photowalk along Dogue Creek, Huntley Meadows Park (HMP). Both individuals are males, as indicated by their terminal appendages.
The first photo shows an immature male. At this point in the male’s maturation, his coloration is similar to females of the same species.
The handsome devil shown in the last photo shows a mature male, probably one- to two weeks older than the male featured in the first photo.
Needham’s Skimmers were more common at Huntley Meadows Park several years ago. For some reason, they’re harder to find now. I speculate their numbers might have been reduced by back-to-back colder than average winters.
Copyright © 2016 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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Tags:Dogue Creek, Huntley Meadows Park, immature male, Libellula needhami, mature male, Needham's Skimmer dragonfly, Skimmer Family, terminal appendages, wildlife photography
Posted in Aperture, Canon 580EX Speedlite, digital photography, dragonflies, natural science, Panasonic DMC-FZ150, photowalking | 3 Comments »
September 2, 2016
A Needham’s Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula needhami) was spotted at Meadowood Recreation Area (MRA). This individual is a female, as indicated by her terminal appendages.
The orangish-red coloration of this specimen could mislead you into thinking it’s a male. Be aware that the same species of dragonfly may appear differently depending upon gender, age, and natural variation.
Regular readers of my photoblog know I’m fond of head-tilts in which the dragonfly seems to display some of its personality, especially when the individual is looking at me.
Another day, another head tilt…
The preceding photo was taken a few days after the first two photos. Is it the same female? That seems likely since her orangish-red coloration is uncommon. Also, some species of dragonflies seem to be creatures of habit, returning to the same location day-after-day. It’s worth noting this dragonfly was perching in roughly the same spot on both days.
Copyright © 2016 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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Tags:female, head-tilt, Libellula needhami, Meadowood Recreation Area, Needham's Skimmer dragonfly, Skimmer Family, terminal appendages, wildlife photography
Posted in Aperture, Canon 580EX Speedlite, digital photography, dragonflies, natural science, Panasonic DMC-FZ150 | Leave a Comment »
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