Spangled Skimmer dragonfly

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Spangled Skimmer dragonfly

June 17, 2014 by Mike Powell

This dragonfly has such distinctive markings that I should have been able to identify it easily, but I had never seen one like it before, so I didn’t know what it was.

Fortunately, a short time later that day I ran into local dragonfly expert and fellow blogger Walter Sanford, who informed me that it was a Spangled Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula cyanea). Spangled Skimmers have black and white stigmas on their wings, which makes them unique among dragonflies in my part of Northern Virginia. As you may be able to guess from my images, Spangled Skimmers are among the species of dragonflies that like to perch, which makes it easier to photograph them—if you can find them.

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula cyanea, Spangled Skimmer, Spangled Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 180mm macro lens | 13 Comments

13 Responses

on June 17, 2014 at 7:50 am | Reply cyndipachinophotography

Beautiful! I love Dragonflies! So symbolic 🙂
- on June 17, 2014 at 8:05 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I too love dragonflies and it’s especially nice when I manage to spot a new species.
  - on June 17, 2014 at 8:23 am cyndipachinophotography
    
    I never paid much attention to them, until someone sent me something from “The Dragonfly Project”. You can google it. 🙂
on June 17, 2014 at 8:13 am | Reply atodavis

Lovely shot. They look like the Blue Skimmer Dragonfly but your identification is spot-on!
- on June 18, 2014 at 6:59 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. The body looks just like a Blue Skimmer (which we have a lot of), but the wing markings helped me to identify it (along with a more knowledgeable friend).
on June 17, 2014 at 8:48 am | Reply judysbirds

I am spending more and more time noticing the insects, butterflies, dragonflies, etc. on my walks thanks to you and your blog, Mike. As always, your photos are beautiful!
on June 17, 2014 at 10:41 am | Reply Sue

Neat! I’ve never seen one, but you’re right — those are very distinctive markings that would make it easy to ID. Great photos.
on June 17, 2014 at 11:26 am | Reply Dan Antion

Beautiful. Are the white areas in the photos actually white, or are those reflections?
on June 17, 2014 at 1:40 pm | Reply waltersanford

This individual is a mature male, as indicated by its blue coloration and terminal appendages (sometimes called “claspers”). And the white parts of the pterostigmata are actually white, Dan.
on June 18, 2014 at 6:29 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

I can imagine the white on the wings catching sunlight and flashing as it flies along. I love the body color.
on June 18, 2014 at 10:16 am | Reply Mjollnir

Lovely photos of a nice dragon there Mike. I’ll maybe leave it a couple of weeks before heading back to my hotspot in Kanadaskogen to see if I can find some different species.
on June 20, 2014 at 7:54 pm | Reply Marco Pesaresi

Two cracking shots there Mike
on June 25, 2014 at 5:56 am | Reply Female Spangled Skimmer | Mike Powell

[…] week ago, I did a posting featuring the dark blue male Spangled Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula cyanea) and noted that the white […]