whitetail dragonfly
We love your web site. Great info, and great pictures from everybody. We found this on the side of our house. We never used to see these things until we moved to Michigan, where we’re surrounded by lakes and water creatures. Keep up the good work!
Michael Delizia

Hi Michael,
Yor Plathemis lydia is a nice addition to our photo archive. This is a male, hence the white abdomen.

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Dragonfly Naiad species question
Hey all,
Great job with this site! I just came across it a few weeks ago when I was trying to ID several of the life forms I have in my miniature stream bank ecosystem. There’s a stream near my home in West Windsor , NJ called the Millstone River (but it’s only 20’ across). When we have a drought or heat wave each summer, the farmers overpump Millstone River in order to hydrate their crops. As a result, they lower the water level downstream several feet and kill off a majority of the life that lives in the shallow water near the banks shrouded in anacharis and Lilly pads. This year was the first in six years that I decided to ‘rescue’ about 15 gallons of life from this area. The 29-gallon tank is filled less than halfway, yet has four Northern Crayfish, five Brown Water Scorpions, at least a dozen damselfly naiads of varying species, several Common Water Striders, a couple Cherry Barb Minnows under 2”, half dozen Pumpkinseeds under 1⁄2”, one Bullfrog tadpole under 2”, a few Kirby’s Backswimmers, a dozen Water Boatman, a dozen small water beetles under 1⁄4”, a Pickerel under 2”, dozens of small shrimp-like crustaceans under 1⁄4”, about a hundred snails, a dragonfly naiad, and so much more (paramecium, planarians, hydras, etc.). I know that was a long sentence, but it emphasizes how much and at what a staggering variety life can be found in a few square yards of a stream bank. Fascinating! In the past month, the numbers have reached a balance between predator and prey and scavenger, so the tank pretty much takes care of itself. The snails do an awesome job of cleaning. So far I’ve freed about a dozen damsel flies, caddisflies, and soon a dragonfly back into the wild after metamorphosis. The dragonfly naiad is the one I have a question about. I’m pretty excited about it because I think it’s a Green Darner naiad. It’s excellent at hiding among the anacharis so I rarely see it. Fortunately it rested on a branch for just a moment and I was able to snap a few relatively clear pictures of it. In the past week it has changed color from a pair of yellow bands on a black field to a complex pattern of various greens and dark browns. I supplied a photo of each stage to aid in identification. The yellow bands are still vaguely visible now. Being that I’ve had dragonfly naiads in the past, I’m not worried at all about its survival among all those predators (fish and insect). Dragonfly naiads are BRUTAL predators! Please let me know if I’m right about this one! I’d love to hear from you. If you’d like photos of anything else I have a few decent shots, including an video created from dozens of photos of a damselfly during metamorphosis! It was awesome to watch for the whole 2 hours.
An avid fan,
Ian

Hi Ian,
This might well be my favorite letter of all time. I applaud your aquarium. I once had a Los Angeles River Aquarium, merely five gallons, for nearly five years with the original three mosquito fish providing many new generations before a racoon ate them. The aquarium was outside. Sadly, we are going to fail you with your identification. We don’t know what species of Dragonfly naiad you have.

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prehistoric looking critter
Here is a real ugly critter. It resemble a grasshopper, but has ridges down his back and is almost black. He was sitting on the side of on of the support beams of the dock of our lake. Can you identify him for me? I looked in all of my reference books under grasshoppers and crickets and was unable to find him. If you need some more pictures, I can send them to you. The white strings on his back look like atrophied wings to me, but I might be mistaken. I was flat on the dock trying to aim the camera below me for these shots. Thanks for your help.
Margrit

Hi Margrit,
A Naiad crawled out of the lake, split its skin and flew away as an adult Dragonfly.

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3 pics
Hi! I’m in Florida and I have 3 pictures I have questions about. One is of a large dragonfly with something near the end of its tail. What is it?… And last, but not least…..I think you know what I’m going to ask :0) Thanks!
Jaime

So Jaime,
Your big dragonfly is a Twelve-Spot Skimmer, Libellula pulchella, but the object on its abdomen is not clear enough to identify. Dragonflies are often plagued by mites, but this looks a little large for that. Sometimes Psuedoscorpions hitch rides on flying insects, a phenomenon known as phoresy. Sadly, we just can’t be sure. You want to know how Damselflies Do It. The male grasps the female around the neck with pincers he possesses on the tip of his abdomen. She then twists around with her abdomen to accept the sperm. Many species of Damselflies stay in this position while the eggs are laid, with the female depositing the eggs underwater. I’m sure the extra pairs of wings help to lift her back into the air after an egg has been laid. This is such a wonderful addition to our brand new Bug Love page.

Correction: Sat, Feb 21, 2009 at 3:11 AM
Good morning,
If I may, the first pics shows a female of Prince Baskettail (Epitheca princeps) and the things at the end of the abdmen are eggs. It is a distinctive behavior of the genus Epitheca, the female expluse eggs, with the abdomen croooked, that accumulate outside the abdomen. When there is enough eggs the female take flight and tip the mass of eggs into the water.
The second pic show what are Orange Bluets (Enallagma signatum), in this case the little things on the abdomen are indeed Acarian bugs.
Renaud, Switzerland

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