In many of my blog postings, I concentrate on a single species of dragonflies, but today I want to celebrate the diversity of species that I have been seeing during the month of September. Despite my warnings in some earlier postings about the decreasing numbers of dragonflies, I continue to see a variety of species—Northern Virginia, where I live, is blessed to have an abundance of different dragonflies and damselflies.
The first photo shows a female Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera), the smallest dragonfly in our area. Males of this species hang out at ponds, but the females, which do not have amber wings like the males, are usually found in vegetation some distance from the water.
The second image shows a male Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa), a beautifully colored dragonfly with distinctive patterns on its wings. The third image shows a mature female Needham’s Skimmer (Libellula needhami). Her wings show some damage and her color has fades, but she is still beautiful and the golden strands on the front edges of her wings were sparkling in the sunlight when I captured this image.
The fourth image shows a female Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis), one of the most common dragonfly species in my area. I love the brilliant emerald color of the females (and immature males) of this species and the black markings on the abdomen.
The dragonfly in the last photo was the toughest one for me to identify. It had flown up into a tree and I was looking into the sun when I captured the image. However, I am pretty sure that it is a female Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans).
All of these dragonflies belong to the Skimmer family, the largest dragonfly family that includes the species most likely to be seen by a casual dragonfly watcher. The other families, which are generally harder to find, include Clubtails, Cruisers, Darners, Emeralds, Petaltails, and Spiketails. If I remember correctly, I have managed this season to photograph at least one dragonfly in all seven of these dragonfly families.
![Eastern Amberwing](https://michaelqpowell.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/amberwing1_6sep23_blog.jpg?w=500&h=625)
![Calico Pennant](https://michaelqpowell.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/calico1_11sep23_blog.jpg?w=500&h=400)
![Needham's Skimmer](https://michaelqpowell.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/needhams2_14sep23_blog.jpg?w=500&h=357)
![Eastern Pondhawk](https://michaelqpowell.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/pondhawk1_14sep23_blog.jpg?w=500&h=357)
![Great Blue Skimmer](https://michaelqpowell.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/skimmer1_14sep23_blog.jpg?w=500&h=357)
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