On Monday I photographed this female Widow Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula luctuosa) at Occoquan Regional Park, my first sighting of this species in 2024. Why is it called a “Widow Skimmer?” Someone apparently thought the dark patches on the wings of this species looked like the mourning crepe that historically widows wore and even a portion of its Latin name “luctuosa” means “sorrowful.”
The dark wing patches are quite distinctive and may it relatively easy to identify this species. The males of the species, which I did not see at all that day, have patches of white in addition to the same dark wing patches of the female and their bodies are blue in color when they are mature. Click on this link to see some photos of a male Widow Skimmer from a few years ago.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
She is so very beautiful, Mike. I really liked the close-up and the intimacy of detail, especially the lacy wings and the way she is holding on to the plant stem. Great photos of the male via link, too.
Thanks so much, Jet. I am delighted, as always, that you take the time to really look at the photos and see the details of the subject. It is so cool to be able to capture shots like this with a macro or telephoto lens that let people see details they might not be able to see with their naked eyes.
Such cool wings. Nice shot!