(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Daily Bucket - A dragonfly display, 'cause June was Odonata month. [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-07-03 male Halloween Pennant Making more Halloween Pennants. A female dragonfly will attach her “pinchers” to the top of a male’s head. The male will loop his body forward to impregnate the female. This movement happens when the pair lands. During flight, the female will remain attached but the male must detach to become aerodynamic. Here is a video of Pondhawks mating while perched on a reed. male Calico Pennant — Celithemis elisa female Calico Pennant female Banded Pennant — Celithemis fasciata male Banded Pennant female Pondhawk — Erythemis simpicicollis male Pondhawk female Ornate Pennant — Celithemis ornata female Broad-striped Forceptail — Aphylla angustifolia Lets take a look at Damselflies. male Familiar Bluet — Engallagma civile female Blue-tipped Dancer — Argia tibalis All dragonflies lay their eggs in water. Here is a Damselfly depositing eggs. male Blue-tipped Dancer male Eastern Forktail — Ischnura verticalis I wondered how these creatures kept their wings clean. I shot this video of the Forktail grooming. Flipping it’s tail upward and stroking the wings (like sharpening a knife) is a good technique. female Southern Spreadwing — Lestes australis female Sparkling Jewelwing — Calopteryx dimidiata female American Rubyspot — Hetaerina americana male Fragile Forktail — Ischnure posita male Ebony Jewelwing — Calopteryx maculata male Eastern Amberwing — Perithemis tenera male Jade Clubtail — Arigomphus submedianus male Autumn Meadowhawk — Sympetrum vicinum female Western River Cruiser — Didymops transversa male Needam’s Skimmer — Libellyla needami female Widow Skimmer — Libelulla luctuosa Dragonflies use their mandibles like duel cleavers, skewers, chop sticks and shredders while eating. The River Cruiser below enjoys a housefly (discarding the wings). female Grey Pedaltail — Tachopteryx thoreyi male Blue Dasher — Pachydiplax longipennis male Twelve-spotted Skimmer — Libelulla Pulchella Most of the larger Dragonflies (like the Twelve-spotted Skimmer above and the Widow Skimmer) have wings that create a “sheen” when the light is angled. Here is a very short video showing that. male Spangled Skimmer — Libelulla cyanea female Yellow-sided Skimmer — Libelulla flavida male Common Whitetail — Plathemis lydia female Common Whitetail female Blue Corporal — Ladona deplanta male Blue Corporal male Slaty Skimmer — Libelulla incesta I count almost 3 dozen individual photos. I have more shots in my files of various situations where dragonflies are involved. I expect to find more in the future. I’ll leave you with one more Halloween Pennant shot. female Halloween Pennant I will be at the Vet’s office with Rascal ( my new cat) this morning. When I get home, I’ll catch up on all the conversations. “To the Vet’s office!” “What does that mean?” Please consider this an Open Thread and mark your calendar for the Dkos ART EXPO tomorrow. Here is a “sneak peek” ( intimate detail ) of one piece shown. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/3/2178648/-The-Daily-Bucket-A-dragonfly-display-cause-June-was-Odonata-month Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/