Yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Woodbridge, Virginia, I was able to photograph a new dragonfly species for me, the beautiful Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa). Fellow photographer and dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford had alerted me to the presence of these dragonflies at this location and had given me a general idea of where I might find them.
When I arrived at the wildlife refuge, which I had never visited before, I was a bit disoriented at first, but eventually found the pond that was my target location. The challenge, though, was to find the diminutive dragonflies. I walked about for quite some time before I finally spotted one perched on the very top of some vegetation in a field adjacent to the pond. Like other pennant dragonflies, Calico Pennants usually hang on to the most fragile, flimsy branches of plants and are often flapping in the breeze like a pennant.
Here are a couple of shots of Calico Pennant dragonflies that I observed. The one with the yellow abdomen is a female and the male has the red abdomen. As is the case with many species, immature males have the same coloration as the females, so it usually pays to look at the terminal appendages to determine the gender.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
mike, the second photo is stunning!
Thanks, Rob. It was pretty exciting for me to see a new colorful dragonfly (though I had to pick off about a dozen ticks from my clothes before I got into my car).
These are beautiful photos, Mike.
I still think your female looks orangish-red!
I went back and looked at it and it is not quite as yellow as I initially thought, though the male looks a lot redder to me than the female. Are you referring to the abdomen or to the thorax?
Stunning, Mike! You must be pleased with these new sightings!
Thanks, Chris. I have always been attracted by the beauty of dragonflies, but increasingly I am drawn to searching for species that are less frequently seen. Even when I know where they have been seen previously, there are no guarantees that I will be able to find them. After all, dragonflies like this are only about 3 cm (1.2 inches) in length.
Wow much smaller than I imagined!