Laelaps
Musings on evolution, the fossil record, and our place in nature
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Laelaps is the blog of freelance science writer Brian Switek. This blog frequently features his musings on paleontology, evolution, and the history of science. Switek also blogs for Smithsonian magazine's Dinosaur Tracking, and he is a research associate at the New Jersey State Museum.
Switek's first book, Written in Stone, will be published on November 1, 2010 by Bellevue Literary Press.
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Photo of the Day #635: Dragonfly
Category: Inverts • Photography
Posted on: July 9, 2009 6:21 AM, by Brian Switek
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Comments
As a dragonfly enthusiast, I can tell you that you have a female widow skimmer here. Nice picture.
Posted by: Rich | July 9, 2009 7:10 AM
Thanks for the help, Rich. I don't know my dragonflies that well so I wasn't sure where to even start when I wanted to find the species for this one. There were a lot of males and females out that day; I will post more soon.
Posted by: Laelaps | July 9, 2009 7:34 AM
It's a Widow Skimmer all right, but a male. The white wing bands are much subtler than I'm used to seeing here in Minnesota, but they're definitely there; the yellow stripes on the abdomen are covered up by bluish pruinescence; and you can even make out the claspers at the tip of the abdomen -- at this angle they look a bit like a cloven hoof.
Congratulations on the photo. I always find these guys rather flighty and hard to approach compared to most skimmers.
Posted by: Raphael Carter | July 9, 2009 7:40 PM
Yup, a male Widow Skimmer, all right. These guys aren't particularly common here in central Arizona, and the few I do find are very difficult to approach and photograph. Congratulations on this fine shot, Brian!
Posted by: Pete Moulton | July 15, 2009 5:47 AM