Perhaps there are dragonflies with longer names than the Black-shouldered Spinyleg dragonfly (Dromogomphus spinosus), but none of them immediately come to mind. Sometimes I will complain about the inaccurate names given to various species, but in this case the descriptors are accurate. Alas, when I spotted this dragonfly in a boggy area of Prince William County, Virginia last week, I couldn’t get close enough to capture those details very well.
The vegetation on which the dragonfly is perched is skunk cabbage, a plant that grows in the mucky confines of seeps and swamps. It is said that bruised leaves present a fragrance reminiscent of skunk, so I try to step carefully whenever I am near any skunk cabbage.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
If you step on a skunk cabbage you’ll know it, but the scent doesn’t linger long like a true skunk would.
It is good to know that the skunk cabbage smell does not last as long as that of a skunk. When I was growing up, out dog had an encounter with a skunk and I remember helping to bathe him in tomato juice to try to eliminate the smell.
Now they have something called “skunk off” which I’ve heard works well.
Nice Mike! Never saw one of these before!
[…] why I prefer using flash for insect photography. See for yourself by looking at Mike Powell’s photo of the same subject — although we were literally standing side-by-side when our photos were taken, the difference […]
Spinyleg – sounds like something a child would be afraid of!
Yeah, the name is definitely a little creepy. 🙂