With most dragonfly species, the male is usually the one with the most distinctive coloration and females are often nondescript in appearance. That is definitely not the case with the Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis), where the female is bright green and has distinctive black bands on her abdomen. She also has a green face that makes it almost impossible to misidentify this species.
Immature males of this species have a similar coloration to that of the female, but they are gradually transformed into a duller shade of blue and finally a powdery bluish-gray. The terminal appendages of the male are different from those of the female and additionally the ovipositor of the female, the egg-laying organ, is frequently visible below the tip of her abdomen, as you can see in this photo that I took last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Eastern Pondhawks are quite common in my area, though this year I have not seen as many as in previous years. Although other dragonflies are equally fierce predators as the Eastern Pondhawk, the majority of the times that I have seen a dragonfly with prey, particularly other dragonflies or damselflies, it has been an Eastern Pondhawk.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 