Whoever named the blue dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) clearly hadn’t seen a female; this female has almost no blue on her whatever. The males, of course, have bright blue abdomens, a green striped thorax, and green eyes. Blue dashers are “perching” dragonflies; they regulate their body temperature by basking in the sun. If they really…
Tag: dragonfly
Hentz Orb Weaver Eating a Dragonfly
This is quite possibly the most “nature is metal” photo I’ve ever taken. This Hentz orb weaver spider (Neoscona crucifera), about 2″ radius max, has taken down a fully grown great blue skipper dragonfly (Libuella vibrans), which is about 3 1/2″ inches long. Imagine the rodeo that must have been!
Halloween Pennant Dragonfly
I love these dragonflies, because they are so easy to identify — they are the only dragonfly in Florida with those multiple big, brown spots all over their wings. Also, who doesn’t love Halloween?!? Celithemis eponina lives all over the eastern United States, mostly near bodies of water. They mostly appear in the summer in…