A male Common Whitetail dragonfly (Plathemis lydia) perching on a turtle’s shell. This prehistoric odd couple was spotted along the boardwalk that goes through the central wetland area at Huntley Meadows Park. The pair reminds me of John the Turtle and the Dookie Bird from the comic strip, “B.C.”
Thanks to Project Noah Ranger “NeilD” for identifying the turtle as a Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans). According to Neil, “Older individuals of that species, especially males, tend to turn ‘melanistic’ or dark-colored like that and lose the distinct colorful markings on their skin.”
Copyright © 2012 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved. www.wsanford.com
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