On Tuesday I spotted this beautiful female Calico Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis elisa) during a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I always love to see the wonderfully patterned wings of this dragonfly species and the first shot provides a good view of the wing details, especially if you click on the image to enlarge it.
In the second image, I focused primarily on the dragonfly’s head and body and the wings are mostly out of focus. I love the way that you can see the dragonfly’s tiny feet and the tenuous grasp they have on the fuzzy plant stem from which the dragonfly is hanging.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Nice Mike! Beautiful images!
She’s stunning! Love the photos Mike!
Thanks. These colorful dragonflies are a fun challenge to photograph, given that they are only 1.3 inches (34 mm) in length.
Well they’re beautiful shots!
Beautiful shots, Mike!
Blue Rock Horses Frederick County, Virginia bluerockhorses.com
Two superb shots Mike, that is one stunning dragon!
Thanks. There are only a few dragonflies that have dark patches on their wings like this species. The male of the species is bright red in color and I am hoping I will spot one before long.
Stunning!
Spectacular.
Thanks, Michael.
Great photos!
Thanks, kenne. We are now moving into prime dragonfly season and some of the restrictions are being loosened at many of the parks that I like to visit to hunt for dragonflies.
Your penchant for pennants was really well rewarded with this one, Mike. What a beauty!
Nice shots, Mike. I’ve only come across these once but in a field with dozens of them waiting for their wings to dry. You would’ve been a kid in a candy shop.
Indeed, Steve, I would have been really, really excited. I read about mass emergences of various dragonfly species, but have yet to see one. In most of the places that I visit, there tend to be only a handful of dragonflies and I have to look hard for them, especially early in the season. In the next month or so, a lot of the more common species should begin to emerge.
That is how I usually see dragonflies also..one or two at a time. The field was all females. I read that when this species ecloses the females head for a field or meadow and the males stay close to the water. Here’s one of my calicos and a bunch of other dragonflies.
Thanks for sharing, Steve. Your dragonfly shots are wonderful–you really made an effort to get the whole body in focus, which most often requires a dorsal shot. Many male dragonflies when they first emerge have the same coloration as the female, so often you have to look at the tip of the abdomen to tell immature males from females. Here, for example, is an immature male Calico Pennant, which it yellow, like the female, but the male will eventually turn red. https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/08/08/mosaic-wings/
One of my guides has a page of abdomen tips for IDing different species. They can be confusing if you don’t spend a lot of time with them regularly and I have made a few misidentifications. Once things turn to summer here I hope to do more with them.
What a looker! Great shots, Mike.
Thanks, Eliza. I tend to think so tree blossoms as being small and delicate–these flowers appear to be comparatively robust.