Friday, November 8, 2013

Florida: Some Florida Dragonflies

Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)
Here is another gallery from our April 2012 visit to southern Florida.  This one features a selection of dragonflies.  We start with a male of perhaps the commonest wetland species in the area, the Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis).

Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)
Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)
Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)
These are males, too; besides the blue colour, notice that the tip of the abdomen is tapered.

Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)
Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)
Females, besides lacking the blue (as do immature males), have a blunt, squared-off abdomen.  The posture, with the wings held low and forward, is typical for the species.

Band-winged Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax umbrata)
This is a male Band-winged Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax umbrata), a species that is something of a south Florida speciality in the eastern United States, though it has ranged as far north as Wisconsin.

Band-winged Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax umbrata)
Band-winged Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax umbrata)
Female Band-winged Dragonlets may resemble the males, or occur in a "brown" form like the insects shown here.

Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis)
This is a female Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis), one of our most beautiful dragonflies.  It is also, reportedly, one of the most voracious, occasionally attacking other dragonflies - including its own species.

Pin-tailed Pondhawk (Erythemis plebeja)
Pin-tailed Pondhawks (Erythemis plebeja) are tropical dragonflies that have spread through much of southern Florida since first being recorded here in 1971.

Four-spotted Pennant (Brachymesia gravida)
This is a male Four-spotted Pennant (Brachymesia gravida). Besides the four spots, notice the white pterostigmas in the wings; this is the only Florida dragonfly to have pterostigmas this colour.

Needham's Skimmer (Libellula needhami)
Needham's Skimmer (Libellula needhami)
These are, apparently, female Needham's Skimmers (Libellula needhami), a common and beautiful south Florida species that is nonetheless very difficult to distinguish from the also-common Golden-winged Skimmer (L. auripennis).

Needham's Skimmer (Libellula needhami)
Needham's Skimmer (Libellula needhami)
Needham's Skimmer (Libellula needhami)
These photos show one of the key differences between the two.  Needham's has a largely plain thorax, while the pale area on the Golden-winged is crossed by a dark brown stripe.  Ergo, these are Needham's.

Regal Darner (Coryphaeschna ingens)
Finally, the only non-libellulid dragonfly of the bunch - a Regal Darner (Coryphaeschna ingens) that I found, suspended in typical fashion, near the boardwalk of the Daggerwing Nature centre in Boca Raton.

Regal Darner (Coryphaeschna ingens)
Regal Darner (Coryphaeschna ingens)
The Regal Darner is one of the largest dragonflies in North America, reaching 10 cm in total length.  The blue eyes mark this one out as a mature female; in males and immatures, the eyes are green.  I am not used to having darners model for me, so this was certainly the dragonfly of the trip!

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