# anyone know about dragonflies?



## MoreWater (Jul 15, 2008)

Looking for IDs, if anyone might know what's around in the mid-atlantic area.

These shots are from a local wetland park. I think I have three IDed (bluish green (m) and green (f), and the white one), but looking for IDs on the red and the dark blue.....

The thing about taking photos is that I get a bit obsessive about getting IDs for things - and not just plants. *sigh* Help would be appreciated. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ki/sets/72157606149627081/ 


Here's a bee from another local park, while I'm here.... 




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## Ron-NY (Jul 15, 2008)

Ki, it is most likely Pachydiplax longipennis - Blue Dasher Dragonfly - personally I am jealous of the species name :rollhappy:


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## Heather (Jul 15, 2008)

I'll talk to a couple of our "Bugologists" at work tomorrow. We have a cool exhibit this year that just opened - Dave Rogers' BIG BUGS. 

http://www.newenglandwild.org/visit/bigbugs

So we have a lot of expert interns on hand in the ed. dept. this summer. 
I think the red is a damselfly but I could be mistaken.


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## Heather (Jul 15, 2008)

Ron-NY said:


> Ki, it is most likely Pachydiplax longipennis - Blue Dasher Dragonfly - personally I am jealous of the species name :rollhappy:



Yeah, but the "dasher" inference isn't so positive.


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## MoreWater (Jul 15, 2008)

:rollhappy: Peoples, I'm just talking dragonflies here....

H - if a closer photo might help, I can crop the originals


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## MoreWater (Jul 15, 2008)

Heather said:


> http://www.newenglandwild.org/visit/bigbugs



OK, I started to look but I'm scared of bugs. Thank god for the tele lens or I wouldn't have any bee pix.

I don't have an ID for the butterfly either.... I should probably go find a book on this area.....


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## Heather (Jul 15, 2008)

Hrm...the mantis is SO F'ing cool! We had a live one at the garden for the opening and she was just beautiful! A bright, irredescent blue-green color. 

If anyone gets up towards me this summer, do let me know I'll get you passes. 
They are really fabulous. 

We have a lot of those red ones, Ki, the damselflies, I'm just not sure what they are. They hang out on the Lobelia cardinalis in August and the two are just gorgeous together!

A closer look on those two would be helpful, yes. If you could post the photos directly here too, the ones you are unsure of, that would be great as I wasn't exactly sure which white one from the flickr descriptions. 

Is the butterfly some sort of swallowtail? That's a total guess.


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## MoreWater (Jul 15, 2008)

Hmm.. the memory card is at work.... If I remember to take my computer in tomorrow (and the CF reader and the cable), I'll get some photos up on this thread. Either that or I'll remember to bring the CF card home tomorrow!


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## Yoyo_Jo (Jul 15, 2008)

MoreWater said:


> OK, I started to look but I'm scared of bugs. .....


 oke: How can you be scared of bugs? You grow orchids. They seem to come with bugs. :rollhappy:

Mind you the first time I had a centipede drop out the bottom of a newly purchased orchid I nearly had heart failure....


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## MoreWater (Jul 15, 2008)

Yoyo_Jo said:


> How can you be scared of bugs? You grow orchids. They seem to come with bugs. :rollhappy:



I am getting better, thanks to orchids and the camera. For some reason, getting "up close and personal" through a computer screen helps.... (but only a little bit...)


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## NYEric (Jul 16, 2008)

Yoyo_Jo said:


> Mind you the first time I had a centipede drop out the bottom of a newly purchased orchid I nearly had heart failure....


Haha, me too! I like buggies though, except ticks!


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## Heather (Jul 16, 2008)

Here's some info from my friend:

Blue dashers have markings on their bodies, lines of black and green. They also often have a dark spot on their rear, if they are a mature male. She had pictures of these.

Her first picture posted is of an eastern Pondhawk, male, all blue. The wings are slightly more robust. I agree the green one she took a photo of is a female eastern Pondhawk, though actual size helps identify this.

The red one is a Libellulidae, some type of skimmer. Not sure what type. Would need to see its wings to know if it was L. saturata, though that is a safe guess. On the web, she could crop the picture to make the beast itself bigger and easier to identify, and safely add the name skimmer.

He's also sending the photos to an expert in identifying many dragonflies in our area, and across the globe. She should be able to help pinpoint these to species.


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## MoreWater (Jul 16, 2008)

Ooh!

I'll have cropped photos later. Browsing on my phone so far today....

I'm going to try for better pix of them as only the blue ones were cooperative last visit. 

Next time I will take a hat to protect my poor head.


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## MoreWater (Jul 16, 2008)

Thanks so much. 

I'd say that size-wise they were all about the same except I think the whitetail was bigger.

So the first one is probably an Eastern Pondhawk:







Does the Eastern Pondhawk also come in a light blue with green like this?







Unfortunately the others would not sit still near the boardwalk so I have pretty blurry photos. 

Green/female:

[URL="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ki/sets/72157606149627081/"]


[/URL]


Here's the red one again:











And what I think may be Male Whitetail Dragonfly. Libellula lydia:


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## SlipperFan (Jul 16, 2008)

Heather said:


> We have a lot of those red ones, Ki, the damselflies,...
> Is the butterfly some sort of swallowtail? That's a total guess.



I could be wrong, but I thought Damselflies, when resting, closed their wings together over their backs, whereas dragonflies leave them spread out by their sides.

The butterfly looks like either a spicebush swallowtail or a blue swallowtail.

Nice photos, by the way!


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## Heather (Jul 16, 2008)

Right, Dot, I think I was mistaken and maybe it is what is known as a skimmer. 

I will send new photos to Jini (the expert) tomorrow.


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## Ron-NY (Jul 16, 2008)

I can deal with most bugs except roaches...long story...cheap apartment 

Did I tell you my mouse story last year? we had a field mouse in the house last fall. had it cornered in the broom closet. I caught it under a clear pint container. I wanted to release it down the road and asked for a piece of cardboard to slide under the container...well the dam thing escaped and ran up my arm...have you ever heard a grown man in his 50's scream like a little girl :rollhappy::rollhappy:



Heather said:


> Yeah, but the "dasher" inference isn't so positive.


  must be the male of the species :rollhappy:


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## SlipperFan (Jul 17, 2008)

Ron-NY said:


> I can deal with most bugs except roaches...long story...cheap apartment
> 
> Did I tell you my mouse story last year? we had a field mouse in the house last fall. had it cornered in the broom closet. I caught it under a clear pint container. I wanted to release it down the road and asked for a piece of cardboard to slide under the container...well the dam thing escaped and ran up my arm...have you ever heard a grown man in his 50's scream like a little girl :rollhappy::rollhappy:


If it had been me, you'd have heard me all the way from Michigan!


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## Yoyo_Jo (Jul 17, 2008)

I'd have screamed too. And run away.

Morewater your photos are WONDERFUL!!! :clap:


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## Heather (Jul 17, 2008)

Ki, haven't had a change to put these to the expert yet - hopefully tomorrow. I'm in default to Kyle for something too, and Jason F. I think also. Will try to catch up this weekend if not tomorrow! Sorry for the delay - evenings seem to get swamped and end quickly and at work it is hard to get forum work done. Go figure!


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## MoreWater (Jul 17, 2008)

omg mice and roaches. yuck (where's the gag smiley....)

Heather - no hurry at all of course, This is just my curiosity.


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## Heather (Jul 18, 2008)

Here's what I got back this morning:

"The first two are Slaty Skimmer-see the dark eyes and those long pinched at the nodus wings and a little scoop of black on the wing curve-it's my best guess. The second looks like that saturata-WOW what a color I have never seen one. The 4th shot is the mature male dasher."


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## MoreWater (Jul 20, 2008)

Hi Heather - thanks again. I sent you a PM too.


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## Heather (Jul 24, 2008)

*A few larger "bug" pictures*

So we have the priveledge of exhibiting Dave Roger's BIG BUGS exhibit at work and I took a few photos for Ki.  

Dragonfly in the lily pond:


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## Heather (Jul 24, 2008)

Damselfly





This guy is my favorite! He's about 17' tall.


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## SlipperFan (Jul 24, 2008)

Cool sculptures. I'd like to have them near my pond.


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## Heather (Jul 25, 2008)

SlipperFan said:


> Cool sculptures. I'd like to have them near my pond.



For around 40 grand that could probably be arranged! :rollhappy:


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## MoreWater (Jul 25, 2008)

Ooh, bringing money into the discussion. Tut tut.

Very cool, Heather. And also freaky big!


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