Here's another lovely dragonfly! It seems to have all the characteristics of the yellow-legged meadowhawk, Sympetrum vicinum, but my dragonfly book says, "the red meadowhawks of North America present an intractable field problem...The taxonomy of this complex is unclear, and the exact number of species uncertain."
So, do you think that I am about to suggest that I'm certain of this ID? Not on your life. This one was smaller than the Ruby Meadowhawk I featured before, and this one does have yellow legs. However, the yellow-legged ones only have yellowish to brown legs when they are young.
Well, I am just pleased to be able to get some additional good pictures of dragonflies. Leaving the science behind, they really are like flying jewels.
 | See Ruby Meadowhawk |
7 comments:
I like flying jewels, but hate to spend times in order to identify their identity.
Thanks for sharing these pics. My mom and I love dragonflies. We flip every time we see one in our garden. :)
Btw, we got the blanket and hat. Many, many thanks again! I blogged about it here:
http://www.spinninglovelydays.com/2011/08/lovely-presents-for-my-children.html
miss the days where I play with them, running around and finding them. these days, i don't get to see them much, maybe because i don't run around the field anymore as often as i did when i was a child. but then, because we no longer have nearby fields :( beautiful pictures Sharkbytes, i can't help you with the ID though :(
I have never seen this lovely Dragonfly! My Grandmother called them Snake Doctors.
Hi rainfield- I like both parts
Ivy- Oh, I'm so glad. I was afraid it wouldn't get to you in time. I sure hope we get to meet some day too.
betchai- this has been a great year for them here. It's not always the case.
Jean- I love the red ones, too bad they are so hard to ID.
Dragons & Damsels seem to be on the increase over here - they have been in decline for years due the filling in of the canals and local ponds, finally we are getting more people who want to see them again. People are making wet areas for them, they are wonderful to watch.
The wings are so lacy and delicate. I wish I would see them up close. My poor camera has been dropped so often, I seem to have damaged the macro! I wouldn't get shots nearly so good as yours.
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