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Saturday, June 24, 2017

A New (To Me) Dragonfly

Doug found this little visitor on one of our shrubs Thursday night, about nine o'clock. I don't believe I've ever seen a dragonfly quite like this one and hope one of you might be able to identify it for me.



The images aren't the best quality because of the low-light situation and the movement of the dragonfly's perch in the evening breeze. In fact, I had to use a flash, which must have confused this poor little critter because those big eyes were rolling with my every move.

Update 6/25/17: Aha! Persistency in searching the internet has paid off.  I believe this is a female Eastern Pondhawk.


16 comments:

  1. I am no help when it comes to identifying these critters. He is a beauty though.

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    1. Ruth, I've seen lots of the male Eastern Pondhawk, but this is the first female I've encountered. Fortunately, their beauty can be appreciated without knowing their name.

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  2. Wow he is unusual. I have never seen one like him before either! Nice capture

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    1. Thanks so much, Kim. As I've since learned, "he" is a "she." :)

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  3. I've never seen anything like this, either. You got a couple of great captures.

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    1. Thanks, George. I just wish I'd had some sunlight to show off that amazing color.

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  4. They are such unique creatures, I hunt them often

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    1. Hi, Steve. I don't usually hunt them, but I'm always glad when I find one posing for me.

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  5. That's a beautiful dragonfly, Linda. I'm afraid I wouldn't know one from the other. I found another photo of this type online, but the site it's on seems kinda strange. I didn't see any info with the photo, but here's the address in case you can figure that site out: https://www.google.com/search?q=lime+green+and+black+dragonfly&tbm=isch&imgil=lI0SIdJPbjU71M%253A%253B4CVyGHjuUZm6SM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.alamy.com%25252Fstock-photo%25252Fdragonfly-lime-green.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=lI0SIdJPbjU71M%253A%252C4CVyGHjuUZm6SM%252C_&usg=__VOaVN8gTvaTp7k4CXvmf6qKBXWU%3D&biw=1920&bih=920&ved=0ahUKEwimtdDAl9nUAhXk6oMKHY2XA7UQyjcILw&ei=jMVPWaa_AuTVjwSNr46oCw#imgrc=kvFsSvK15UzoQM:

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    1. Thanks for trying to help me identify this one, Toni. Unfortunately, a lot of the images that come up, based on the description we type into the search box, don't contain any information. But I did find one that identified my dragonfly as a female Eastern Pondhawk. After that, I was able to verify that ID on another site.

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  6. He is unique and beautiful, Linda! Thank you so much for sharing.

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    1. Thank you, Linda. I've since learned that "he" is a "she." Still beautiful, though, isn't she?

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  7. Glad you figured out what it is ... I'd have NO idea in the world.... I can tell you some things by name but not dragonflies... She's a beauty though.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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    1. Thanks, Betsy. This would have been just a pretty bug without the internet to help me identify it. If I couldn't have found it myself, someone else would have known.

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  8. Congratulations on the identification, Linda. It's such an interesting little creature, great colours and shape. I looked up also the male to see the colour difference and loved the blue as well.

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    1. Thank you, Petra. I'm fascinated by dragonflies (as you may have noticed). I've gotten several pictures of the male Eastern Pondhawk. I do like his powdery blue color, but the "Mrs." makes him pale by comparison.

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