Mike Powell

I do not see Carolina Saddlebags dragonflies (Tramea carolina) very often and when I am lucky enough to spot one, it is usually in flight. According to the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, “Carolina Saddlebags appear to stick to shallow, thickly vegetated ponds and marshlands,” which is a pretty good description of the place where I spotted this one last Saturday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The same website described the Carolina Saddlebag’s flight tendencies as “Strong flier, often high, rarely perches.”

I had been watching several Calico Pennant dragonflies, another species that is red and has patterned wings, as they flew around over the pond when suddenly a somewhat larger red dragonfly flew into view—Calico Pennants are approximately 1.3 inches (33 mm) in length, while Carolina Saddlebags are 2.0 inches (51 mm). I visually tracked the Carolina Saddlebags and was able to follow it as it perched high on a stalk of vegetation in an adjacent field.

I moved slowly and stealthily, but did not have room for maneuver to compose a few shots. The lighting was best when from the angle at which I captured the first shot and you can see some of the details and markings on the dragonfly’s body. In the second image, you get a better look at the “saddlebags,” the reddish-brown patches on the rear wings, but most of the body is silhouetted.

For the third shot, I changed the height of my shooting angle to make the background a bit more interesting than the sky. The blurry greenish background in the image was some distant trees. As you may have noticed, the dragonfly’s position in the second and third images is almost the same

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.