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End of June Dragonflies and Damselflies

Birding

Common Baskettail Dragonfly, Epitheca cynosura

Nature, Odonate, Photography

Moth Week 2023

National Moth Week 2023 is over, actually has been over for a while, and although I didn’t see a lot of showy moths, I did see a nice sampling. The technique I used was a lightsheet and a few wine ropes (rags). That setup is a white sheet hung between trees with UV lights aimed towards the sheet. It was an interesting learning experience and one I plan to repeat despite moth week being over. Things I discovered… So what kinds of moths did I see? Below are some of my observations ...
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Nature, Odonate, Photography

Needham’s Skimmer and Golden-winged Skimmer

Two of the most beautiful dragonflies in my area are Needham’s Skimmer, Libellula needhami, and the Golden-winged Skimmer, Libellula auripennis. Unfortunately, they are easy to confuse as both may be present in coastal areas. This is where the “wolf’s head” pattern of light color on the thorax can come in really handy. Below is a photo showing where the wolf’s head pattern can be found on a Great Blue Skimmer. Some of the skimmers have an even better ...
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Nature, Odonate, Photography

Skimmer Dragonfly Season

It’s Skimmer season! Around here, the dragonflies that are the most common at this point in the summer are the skimmers (Libellula). Identifying them can sometimes be a little challenging, especially the females, so I’ve done another set of comparison charts for these three: Bar-winged Skimmer (Libellula axilena), Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta), and the Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans). The males are relatively easy to identify but the females can be tricky to identify. ...
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Nature, Odonate, Photography

Attenuated Bluet and Pale Bluet

My last post also included the table I’m going to show below, but I wanted to do a post with my comparison table and photos to actually show the Attenuated Bluet (Enallagma daeckii) and the Pale Bluet (Enallagma pallidum). In the photos, the length and thinness of the Attenuated Bluet is fairly obvious in comparison to the Pale Bluet. The amount of black on the thorax is also fairly visible. Below are the two females side-by-side. You’ll see how the tan median line on the thorax ...
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Birding, Nature, Odonate, Photography

End of June Dragonflies and Damselflies

It’s the end of June (actually the very last day of June) and I’ve been frantic to see the Enallagma, Bluets, genus of damselflies before they disappear for the season. Sure, a lot of them have flight times well into the fall, but they become increasingly hard to find as the summer season progresses. If they are seen, it’s “onsie-twosies” versus five or six (or more) and those few are very difficult to find: it depends more on luck than anything. But members of ...
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