It is not yet dragonfly season, so I have no new photos of these amazing aerial acrobats. However, when I was searching for some other photos yesterday, I came across these images that I had worked up last May and had never posted. I sometimes get so focused on getting new photos that I forget about the older ones, which is why I usually try to do postings as soon as I can after a sighting.
Arrowhead Spiketails (Cordulegaster obliqua) are pretty uncommon in my area, but I was familiar with their appearance because I had seen one only a few days earlier when exploring a different location with fellow blogger and dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford (for more information on the earlier sighting, see my May 27, 2019 posting Female Arrowhead Spiketail dragonfly)
I spotted this dragonfly in the air as I was walking along a trail at Occoquan Regional Park and watched it land on some nearby vegetation. As I approached, it was easy for me to see the distinctive arrowhead pattern of the abdomen for which this species is named. Like other spiketails, Arrowhead Spiketails perch by hanging vertically or at an angle. This particular dragonfly, which happens to be a male, was quite cooperative and let me get close enough to get the portrait-style shot that you see as the second image below.
It will be at least two months before some of the early dragonfly species start to appear in our area. Unlike many summer species that are habitat generalists and are numerous for months on end, spring dragonfly species tend to be found in small numbers in very specific habitats for a limited period of time. Hopefully this posting—a flashback to last May—is a preview of coming attractions.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Very Nice Mike! Always enjoy seeing your dragonfly images!
Thanks, Reed. I suspect that if I look over my images from the past, I could find lots more to post, but mostly I don’t do that. 🙂
beautyful!❤
Very attractive insect. How big is it, can’t tell from the photos?
As dragonflies go, Arrowhead Spiketails are pretty big, about three inches (76 mm) in length. If you are at all curious about this species, check out this link to a website that provides details on the dragonflies in my area. http://dragonfliesnva.com/My%20Documents/KevinPDF/pdf/identify/species/ArrowheadSpiketail-FINAL.pdf
Thanks – impressive size, great for showing off those markings.
Some dragonfly common names puzzle me, but this one’s pretty obvious. That certainly does look like a row of arrowheads: an easy identifying mark.
I too am mystified sometimes by names of birds and dragonflies. A lot of the times it is easy if you have a clear view from a particular angle. If not, it can be easy to get confused by related species. For example, a Twin-spotted Spiketail can look like an Arrowhead Spiketail from certain angles. (Here’s a link to one of my postings on a Twin-spotted Spiketail https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/04/17/female-twin-spotted-spiketail/ )
Wow! Amazing detail.
During warm weather I am used to shooting macro shots, so I get used to seeing such incredible details. My macro lens mostly gathers dust during the winter months, but the close-up shot of the dragonfly reminds me too, Laura, of the amazing world that awaits us when are able to move in really closely.
When I sat the title, I was preparing myself for climate shock! I’m glad this handsome guy is from the past.
Interestingly enough, Dan, I did see a butterfly on Monday. It perched for only a second before it disappeared and I didn’t manage to get a shot. I might have thought that I was hallucinating, but my friend who was with me also saw it. I knew that Mourning Cloak butterflies in our area overwinter as adults, but I just learned that Eastern Comma butterflies do the same.
I would be stunned to see a butterfly in February.
The arrowheads are perfect–how could they not have been incorporated into the name? I’m always intrigued by images that lead one’s eye around, but this one simply demands that the eye travel along the string of the arrowheads to the very end!
Thanks, Gary. Just follow the arrows. 🙂
Know you are excited to get into the season!!
Thanks, Molly. I am definitely excited, though I am only now beginning to recall that a lot of dragonflies seem to like the weather best when it is sunny, hot, and humid. On Tuesday when I took this shot it was sunny and “only” about 80 degrees.