Male Calico Pennant

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Male Calico Pennant

September 5, 2021 by Mike Powell

I was delighted on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge to see that the Calico Pennant dragonflies (Celithemis elisa) are still with us. Now that we have entered into September, I have begun an unofficial countdown for each species. Every encounter is now even more special, because oI am conscious that it coule be the last one of this dragonfly season.

A couple of weeks ago I featured a beautiful yellow-bodied female Calico Pennant dragonfly (see the posting Female Calico Pennant from 24 August if you need to refresh your memory of this delicate creature). Today I am spotlighting an equally stunning male Calico Pennant. I absolutely love the multi-colored pattern on his hind wings and the bright red markings on his body—the red markings look like a series of little hearts when viewed directly from above.

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife | Tagged Calico Pennant, Calico Pennant dragonfly, Canon 50D, Celithemis elisa, male Calico Pennant, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA | 15 Comments

15 Responses

on September 5, 2021 at 7:06 am | Reply picpholio

Such a wonderful species !
on September 5, 2021 at 7:48 am | Reply Michael Sammut

Spectacular species.
on September 5, 2021 at 9:17 am | Reply Reed Andariese

Very Nice Mike! Great Image!
on September 5, 2021 at 10:13 am | Reply Eliza Waters

Such a pretty one!
on September 5, 2021 at 10:54 am | Reply Louella Lester

Love the patterns on the wings.
- on September 7, 2021 at 9:29 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I love all dragonflies, but there is some especially cool about the ones with intricate patterns on their wings, Louella, like this male Calico Pennant.
on September 5, 2021 at 11:33 am | Reply Kit Troyer

Stunning
- on September 7, 2021 at 9:28 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Kit.
on September 5, 2021 at 9:55 pm | Reply Mitzy Bricker

Beautiful!

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- on September 7, 2021 at 9:27 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Mitzy.
on September 6, 2021 at 10:26 am | Reply Ellen Jennings

Very nice, Mike! He is a real beauty. Do you track a species last activity from year to year? I started keeping notes on IDs and have added some dates and locations, hoping I’ll be more prepared next year.
- on September 7, 2021 at 9:26 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I should probably keep notes on dates and location, but I am kind of lazy in that regard. My blog entries serve as an unofficial record for me and I can recall pretty well which species I have found at the locations I visit. It kind of helps that I tend to go to only a handful of locations for my shooting. I also rely on a flight calendar on the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website that shows which on a month by month basis which species are active (http://dragonfliesnva.com/My%20Documents/KevinPDF/pdf/identify/FlightTimeCalendar-NEW.pdf).
  - on September 7, 2021 at 12:32 pm Ellen Jennings
    
    LOL, I find that is all good until I can’t remember! I’ve started adding locations and dates to more of my posts to help me down the road. That calendar is a great resource.
on September 6, 2021 at 10:51 am | Reply Leo Chiasson

Excellent
- on September 7, 2021 at 9:20 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Leo.