Aug. 14, 2022 - Dragonflies

Dragonfly season is mostly over here in northern Minnesota. Here are some dragonflies I photographed this summer.

This is a Chalk-fronted Corporal. The black abdomen indicates this is a male. A female would have a brown abdomen. This dragonfly gets its name from the two white stripes behind its head. They remind us of the two stripes on an Army Corporal’s sleeve.

CorporalChalkfrontedLadonajuliaDunningLakeItascaCounty20220624

A Chalk-fronted Corporal is well camouflaged when it’s resting on the side of a tree. I’m always happy to have dragonflies around because they are voracious eaters of mosquitos and deer flies.

CorporalChalkfrontedLadonajuliaDunningLakeItascaCounty20220623

The Calico Pennant is a common dragonfly in summer. It measures about 1¼ inches long. The red heart-shaped spots on its abdomen indicate this is an adult male. Also notice the small oblong red spots near the end of each wing.

DragonflyPennantCalicoCelithemiselisamaleDunninglakeItascaCounty20220702

This is either a female or immature male Calico Pennant. It has the same pattern on its wings and abdomen as the male, but it has yellow highlights instead of red.

PennantCalicoCelithemiselisaDunningLakeItascaCounty20220623

The Four-spotted Skimmer is referred to as a circumpolar species. That means it is found all across North America, Europe, northwest Africa, and over to Japan. It is 1¾ inches long. The “four spots” refer to the tiny black ones found at the middle of the leading edge of each wing.

DragonrflySkimmerFourspottedLibellulaquadrimaculataDunningLakeItascaCounty20220717

This large (2 inches long) spectacular dragonfly is a Twelve-spotted Skimmer. You get twelve spots by counting only the black ones on its wings. I read in my dragonfly book that it used to be called the Ten-spotted Skimmer based on the number of white spots.

DragonflySkimmerTwelvespottedmaleLibellulapulchellaDunningLakeItascaCounty20220717