From a distance, many dragonflies are hard to identify. However, the wing markings on a male Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula pulchella) are so distinctive that I could identify this dragonfly immediately when I spotted it yesterday in the marshland at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge.
If you take the time to count all of the spots on the wings of the dragonfly, you come up with a number much higher than 12. Why then is it called a Twelve-spotted Skimmer? Someone decided that it was best to count only the dark spots, because only the males generally have the white spots. It is a rare case when gender equality seems to have factored into the name of a species—normally species’ names are based on the characteristics of the male.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I find this photo enchanting, Mike. The delicate outstretched wings, so clearly marked. And the white seems to be so bright…it’s beautiful.
Thanks, Jet. I love your beautiful description of why you like the photo. As you know, I usually try to get much closer shots of my subjects, but in this case I think the long distance view worked out really well.