On Tuesday I was thrilled to spot this male Brown Spiketail dragonfly (Cordulegaster bilineata) while I was exploring a marshy area in Prince William County, Virginia. Spiketail dragonflies are quite rare in our area and this was the first one that I have spotted this year.
Brown Spiketails are found only in a specific type of habitat. According to the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, Brown Spiketails prefer “clean, small, sunlit, forest streams and seepages” and “perch often and low on grasses and shrubs in clearings, meadow edges and sunny forest edges.” As you can see from the background in these two images, the location where I found this dragonfly was full of ferns.
In case you are curious, spiketail dragonflies are so named because the long ovipositor of the female extends beyond the tip of the abdomen. The females lay their eggs by hovering over shallow water and driving the long ovipositor vertically into the shoreline mud or stream bottom in a fashion reminiscent of a sewing machine. Since these photos show a male, there is no “spike” to see for this spiketail.
I love the striking eyes of this dragonfly and the colorful markings his entire body and was happy to be able to capture such a detailed look at his beauty.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Once more a beautiful specimen.
Thanks, Rudi. Most of the dragonflies that I will see in the next few months will be from the Skimmer family. It is always particularly excited when I am able to see Clubtails, Spiketails, and Emeralds that are far less common.
Beautifully coloured and patterned dragonfly!
Thanks, Liz. As you can probably imagine, I was really excited when I spotted this dragonfly and doubly so when I managed to capture these shots. 🙂
Awesome species. Great photos.
Gorgeous.
Absolutely stunning photos, Mike. I double-clicked on each photo and marveled at this beautiful creature–the markings, the wings, those glorious compound eyes. Thanks for bringing your thrill to us, it was a delight.
Thanks, Jet. I think I have mentioned before that I try to post images that are larger than necessary to give viewers the option of zooming in and seeing the kind of wonderful details that you described. It is a fun challenge for me as a photographer to try to get as detailed a shot as I can of subjects that are not always cooperative. 🙂
You sure are opening my eyes to dragonflies. I never knew there were so many species, stunning ones at that. This one is really pretty. I love the intense colors
Very Nice Brown Spiketail Dragonfly Images Mike! Enjoyed seeing them!
Superb photographs, Mike!
Great find for which I am, of course, quite jealous.