Early in the summer, Needham’s Skimmers (Libellula needhami) were among the most common dragonflies at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. As the dragonfly season begins to wind down, their population size has been noticeably dwindling. I am still likely to see some of them, but I have to search a lot harder than I did a month or two ago.
Yesterday I captured this image of a female Needham’s Skimmer. She is in pretty good shape overall, with only a small portion of her wings looking a little tattered.
I like the way that this image shows the bright yellow veining near the leading edges of her wings, one of the distinctive identifying features of this dragonfly species. (The mature males are bright orange or red in coloration, making them even easier to identify.)
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
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