Aug. 20, 2017 - Dragonflies

June and July are the best months to observe dragonflies at our northern Minnesota home. All of these photos were taken between June 22 and July 22 of this year. This is a Chalk-fronted Corporal. The white patches in front of and behind the wings indicate it’s a male; females and juveniles do not have these patches.

DragonflyCorporalChalkfrontedLadonaLibellulajuliaDunningLakeItascaCounty20170622

This is a Blue Dasher. The yellow and brown stripes on its abdomen indicate this is a female or a juvenile. Mature males have a blue abdomen with a dark tip.

DragonflyDasherBluejuvPachydiplaxlongipennisDunningLakeItascaCounty20170630

The reddish area between the wings on this dragonfly identify it as a Belted Whiteface. A white patch on its mostly dark body tells me this is an adult male. The very similar Frosted Whiteface has no red on it.

DragonflyWhitefaceBeltedmaleDunninglakeItascaCounty20170701

This is a juvenile Frosted Whiteface. A very subtle difference in the wing pattern distinguishes it from the juvenile Belted Whiteface.

DragonflyWhitefaceFrostedjuvenileLeucorrhiniafrigidaDunningLakeItascaCounty20170714

There are several red meadowhawk species and it is difficult to tell them apart. I know this is not an Autumn Meadowhawk because they have yellow legs and this one has black legs. There are still a couple of other possibilities so I’ll just call this a “meadowhawk species.”

MeadowhawkWhitefacedprobablySympetrumobtrusumDunningLakeItascaCounty20170722

Count the spots on its wings and you’ll have part of this dragonfly’s name. Yes, it’s a Twelve-spotted Skimmer. This is a female or a juvenile male and the next picture will explain why.

SkimmerTwelvespottedfemaleLibellulapulchellaourwindturbineDunningLakeItascaCounty20170622

The adult male Twelve-spotted Skimmer has the same black wing spots as the female but he also has ten white spots on his wings.

SkimmerTwelvespottedmaleLibellulapulchellaourwindturbineDunningLakeItascaCounty20170622