Where do you go to find sanddragons? Although it sounds like a trick question, the correct response is the obvious one—you generally find Common Sanddragon dragonflies (Progomphus obscurus) perched on the sandy bank of a stream. Sometimes Common Sanddragons will perch almost flat on the sand, but often they will raise their abdomens up, sometimes assuming the obelisk position, in which the tip of the abdomen is pointing almost straight up. Why do they do this? The most frequent explanation for this behavior that I have seen is that it is a method of thermoregulation. The dragonfly keeps from overheating by reducing the amount of its body that is directly exposed to the sun.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I’ve been seeing more dragonflies than I’ve ever seen and most seem to be landing at the edges of gravel roads. Maybe these are what they are. I’ll have to take a closer look.
I’m really curious to see what you have there, Allen. I know there are a number of different species in New England that we don’t see here in Northern Virginia.