Band-winged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum semicinctum)

The amber wash at the base of the wings makes Band-winged Meadowhawks easy to identify in the field. Based on my amateur observations, these meadowhawks seem to be less common locally than other Sympetrum species. This female was photographed in a garden a few hundred feet from water.

Females perching on vegetation on the shore of the Moira River, at the southeast corner of the dam. Upon further exploration I found that this is a favoured breeding site. Despite the Band-winged Meadowhawk's seeming scarcity at other locales this species is certainly plentiful in this small area, and over the course of a few weeks I observed several dozen mating and ovipositing pairs.

Views of a male

A female, still held in the grip of the male, ovipositing in the still, stagnant pools of water along the river shoreline. The bottom consists of large rocks, the spaces between them filled with mud and debris consisting of decaying leaves and sticks. I also observed the female ovipositing on her own, but still under the watchful eye of her mate. There were at least two other males present, and the male in these photos was constantly being contested for breeding and territorial rights.

A few more photos of male Band-winged Meadowhawks, taken at a later date than the pictures above. The population seems biased in favour of males, which outnumber the females by about three to one.

Perching on a Cardinal Flower, camouflaged against the red background ...

... and caught in action at the moment of taking flight.

Front and lateral views of a male

A mating pair in the wheel position

Closeup of the female gripped by the male's claspers

When you're hot your hot

The Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis): this colorful little gem certainly deserves its name and it took no small amount of patience to sneak up this close to one. (The camera I'm using doesn't accommodate telephoto lenses).

A couple of shots showing the stripes on the thorax.

The next sequence of photos depicts the dragonfly engaging in a form of behaviour called "obelisking". According to most sources it appears this is a means for the insect to regulate its body temperature. Tilting the abdomen to a vertical position exposes it to less solar radiation, allowing the body to stay cool.

It wasn't a particularly warm day, about 20° C, overcast and windy, and the sun only came out for about five minutes, just long enough to provide illumination for these photos. According to this article, Obelisk posture (Wikipedia), obelisking can also be a threat display. Perhaps my close approach to taking these photos was invading the odonate's personal space ... this was his way of "giving me the finger" and telling me to buzz off.

This is a male Meadowhawk (Cherry-faced? Ruby? not sure which one) engaging in the same behavior. The day these photos were taken it was humid and the temperature was close to 30° C, plenty hot enough for the dragonfly to want to shed excess heat. But I think this is a threat display ... the closer I came with the camera, the higher the insect elevated its wings and abdomen. My prescence wasn't making him nervous enough to take flight, but he was getting "hot" under the collar (metaphorically speaking).

This male White-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum) started obelisking but his nerves got the better of him and he took flight before assuming the fully vertical position.

White-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum)

A few more photos of this common little dragonfly. Meadowhawks are quite tame if approached slowly without making any sudden moves to startle them. This one found a handy place to perch for a few minutes.

The Meadowhawks ... Sympetrum sp.

The red abdomens tell us the small dragonflies in the first few photos are males but it can be hard to nail down the species. A mature White-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum) has a distinctly white face and black legs.

The red face on the dragonfly in the next three images indicates a Cherry-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum internum) or a Ruby Meadowhawk (Sympetrum rubicundulum). These two species are difficult to distinguish from one another in the field or from a picture.

The abdomen has well defined black markings underneath (this isn't very clear from the photos), this tends to rule out an Autumn Meadowhawk. On the other hand I would expect to see darker legs than this on a Cherry-faced or Ruby Meadowhawk. So I'm not entirely certain as to the species ...

Female meadowhawks are light brownish orange. The black legs and a white face indicate a female White-faced Meadowhawk.

And this? ... yellow legs and a lack of strong black marks on the underside of the abdomen; possibly a female Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum)? (Note ... I've acquired some excellent field guides since this was originally posted. In addition to the field marks already noted, the triangular ovipositor definitely identifies this as a female Sympetrum vicinum).

Last but not least, a close-up of a male ... whatever species he may be.

Along the north shore of Stoco Lake ...

Steel Blue Cricket Hunter (Chlorion aerarium) on Narrowleaf Milkweed

Steel Blue Cricket Hunter on Joe-Pye Weed

Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) on Joe-Pye Weed

The males of many species of dragonflies, such as the Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) in the photo above, develop a white bloom on the wings and abdomen.

A Female Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simpliciollis)

A couple of the many local species of meadowhawks (Sympetrum sp.). I'll try to get a more exact identification on these small ubiquitous dragonflies in the near future.