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.
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.
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!
As a dragonfly enthusiast, I can tell you that you have a female widow skimmer here. Nice picture.
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.
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.
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!