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Posts Tagged ‘Unicorn Clubtail’

Love is in the air

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 13, 2025| 4 Comments »

A dragonfly couple in wheel formation flew by me during a recent visit Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and landed on some nearby vegetation. This acrobatic position is the one used by most dragonflies for mating—sometimes they will mate while in the air and other times they will “do the deed” while perched.

I am not totally certain but I believe that these dragonflies are Unicorn Clubtails (Arigomphus villosipes), a species that I see from time to time in my area.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Unicorn Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Female Unicorn Clubtail

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 27, 2024| 1 Comment »

I was excited to spot this female Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes) on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay Wildlife Refuge, one of the few times that I have seen a female of this species. I am not sure if the females hang out in different areas from the males, which perch prominently on low vegetation or logs at water’s edge, or if, like some human females, they are simply playing “hard to get” and wait to meet the males on their own terms.

As noted on the excellent Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, Unicorn Clubtails are “the only clubtail in Northern VA that prefers ponds and marshes, over streams and rivers…our only clubtail that can be found in completely still, stagnant water.” I know that is true for the males that I have featured already a couple of time this season on this blog, but is it also true for female Unicorn Clubtails?

How do you explain the behavior of females? It is one of the mysteries of life.

Unicorn Clubtail

Unicorn Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Another Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

There must be something special about this perch. One week after I photographed a Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes) on a log at the edge of a small pond at Occoquan Regional Park, I  spotted another Unicorn Clubtail in the exact same spot. Perhaps it was even the same individual, hanging out in the same old places, as this wildlife photographer is wont to do.

The edge of the pond is very mucky, so I couldn’t get any closer to give you a better view of the little “horn” that sticks up between the eyes and gives rise to the name “unicorn.” You’ll have to trust me on that point or check out a 2017 blog post entitled Unicorn in Northern Virginia that includes a better view of the unicorn “horn.”

We are in the midst of a real heat wave, with daily temperatures soaring into the mid-90’s (35 degrees C), so my wildlife forays are shorter than normal. Don’t worry, I am taking it slow, seeking shade whenever possible, and carrying water with me. Forecasters predict that this heat wave will continue for at least another week.  Yikes!

Unicorn Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Unicorn Clubtail in June

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 9, 2024| 5 Comments »

Do you believe in unicorns? I am always delighted when I manage to spot a Unicorn Clubtail (Arigomphus villosipes), a beautiful dragonfly species in which both sexes have a small hornlike projection between their eyes that gives rise to their common name—you can’t really see the “horn” in these photos, so you’ll have to take my word on it. I spotted the dragonfly in this posting while exploring a small pond in Fairfax County, where I live.

It is fairly easy to identify this species, because of the rusty-edged club at the bottom portion of the dragonfly’s abdomen and its very visible bright tip. Male Unicorn Clubtails tend to fly short patrols and perch quite often on low vegetation.  It is not hard to spot them if I am in the appropriate environment, which is usually a pond or marsh, unlike most other clubtail dragonflies that prefer rivers and streams.

Chasing unicorns and dragons? That is how I enjoy spending my time in the wild.

Unicorn Clubtail

Unicorn Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Unicorn Clubtail in June

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on June 8, 2021| 4 Comments »

I was excited to spot this male Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes) last Saturday as I was exploring a small pond in Fairfax County with fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford, my first sighting of this species this season. The dragonfly changed perches multiple times, but steadfastly remained out of reach and facing the pond, forcing me to shoot from an awkward angle.

If the ground at the edge of the pond had not been so soft and muddy, I might have waded into the water a bit to improve my position. As it was, my feet ended up soaked and I just missed tumbling into the water as I leaned forward to try to get as close as I could.

I included the second image to give you an idea of the habitat in which we found the Unicorn Clubtail. I really like the way the dragonfly opportunistically used the floating leaf as a temporary landing pad. I am not sure what caused the concentric ripples in the upper left corner of the photo, but they were interesting enough to justify not cropping the image to give you a closer view of the dragonfly. You can always click on the image if you would like to see more details of the floating dragonfly.

Unicorn Clubtail

Unicorn Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Chasing unicorns in June

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 21, 2020| 6 Comments »

Do you believe in unicorns? I am always happy when I manage to spot a Unicorn Clubtail (Arigomphus villosipes), a beautiful dragonfly species in which both sexes have a small hornlike projection between their eyes that gives rise to their common name. I recently spotted the dragonflies in this posting while exploring a small pond in Fairfax County, where I live.

This is the only clubtail species in our area that prefers ponds and marshes over streams and rivers, according to the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website. It is fairly easy to identify this species, because of the rusty-edged club at the bottom portion of the dragonfly’s abdomen and the very visible bright tip. Male Unicorn Clubtails tend to fly short patrols and perch quite often on low vegetation, so it is not hard for me to spot them if I am in the appropriate environment.  The third photo below shows a male in a typical perching pose.

Female Unicorn Clubtails, on the other hand, are hard to find—I do not know where they hang out, but it seems that they come to the water only when they are ready to mate. The only two times that I have ever seen a female Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly was when when she was ovipositing, like this one in the first two photos that I spotted this past Thursday. I captured these shots as she hovered momentarily in the air, getting ready to tap the water again with the tip of her abdomen to release more eggs.

Chasing unicorns? Yes, that is how I enjoy spending my time in the wild.

 

Unicorn Clubtail

Unicorn Clubtail

Unicorn Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Unicorn Clubtail in July

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 19, 2019| 5 Comments »

Dragonflies perch in a lot of different ways. Some perch at the top of vegetation, some perch in the middle, and some, like this Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes) like to perch low to the ground or, in this case, to the surface of the water. I don’t see Unicorn Clubtails very often, so I was excited to see this one on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in a marshy pond filled with lily pads.

I had two cameras with me when I encountered the dragonfly. The second image below shows the view from my DSLR with a 180mm macro lens. I really like the way that the shot gives you a sense of the environment and when I was processing the image I paid as much attention to the surroundings as I did to the dragonfly.

My Canon SX50 let me zoom in a lot closer to the dragonfly, as you can see in the first shot, and captured more details of the dragonfly. I like aspects of both images and think that together they provided complementary views of this wonderful dragonfly. You can’t really see it in these shots, but members of this species have a little protrusion in between their eyes, which prompted someone to name them “unicorns.”

 

Unicorn Clubtail

unicorn clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Unicorn Clubtail in flight

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 13, 2019| 8 Comments »

When it comes to photography, how do you balance its creative and technical components, how do you mix art and science? In the uncontrolled natural environment in which I take my photographs, I often have to be content with merely capturing an image, any image, of my subject before it disappears.

Sometimes, though, I can make minor adjustments on the fly that have a major impact on the final shot. Last week I was at Occoquan Regional Park, observing dragonflies as they zigged and zagged over the surface of the water. Most of them were common, readily identifiable species. Suddenly I spotted one that was different. I suspected, and later confirmed, that it was a female Unicorn Clubtail (Arigomphus villosipes) and knew that it was pretty rare to spot the female of this species.

The dragonfly began to dip the tip of her abdomen down in the water to deposit eggs and I sprung into action. She was not far from the shore and I snapped off a few shots looking down at her. Those images simply did not have any impact. Instinctively I dropped to my knees, which brought me closer to my subject. More importantly, it gave me a new perspective. I was closer to being at eye level with my subject and I was able to capture a more interesting background with the ripples in the water created by her actions.

This image, for me, is close to being an optimal mix of the technical and creative components of photography. It was challenging to shoot and simultaneously allowed me to express myself artistically. It is my response to the occasional naysayers who assert that photography is merely about capturing reality.

 

Unicorn Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Unicorns in my life

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 15, 2018| 6 Comments »

Do you have rainbows and unicorns in your life? Despite all of the recent rain, I haven’t seen a rainbow in a long time, but I did spot a unicorn last Saturday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, this beautiful Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes).

It’s a little hard to tell from these shots, but Unicorn Clubtails have a little “horn” between their eyes that gives rise to the species’ common name. (If you want a view of the “horn,” check out this posting that I did in 2017.)

There is always a certain tension between isolating your subject in a photo and showing it in its natural surroundings. It’s a whole lot easier to focus on the perched dragonfly in the first image below, but I love the color and the texture of the green leaves in the second image and don’t find them to be distracting. Sometimes in life you have to choose and make an either/or decision, but I think that it is often best to leave the options open and let the viewers decide which images they prefer.

Unicorn Clubtail

Unicorn Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Unicorn in Northern Virginia

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 13, 2017| 3 Comments »

Unicorns in Northern Virginia? One of the coolest dragonflies at Huntley Meadows Park is the Unicorn Clubtail (Arigomphus villosipes), like this one that I spotted along a stream in a remote area of the park on Saturday morning. The U-shaped tip of the abdomen is quite distinctive and makes this dragonfly fairly easy to identify.

 

Unicorn Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly in May

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , on May 22, 2017| 4 Comments »

The time drew near for our departure and I had pretty much given up hope of getting any good shots of dragonflies during a visit with some friends last Saturday to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia. There were several streams and ponds and I would occasionally see dragonflies flying around, but the planted areas of the garden prevented me from getting close to the water and the spots where the dragonflies were perching.

As I was crossing a small bridge that connected the boardwalk to the “shore,” a dragonfly suddenly flew up from the level of the water into a tree and perched on some relatively low-hanging leaves, about eight feet (243 cm) from the ground. I was able to track the dragonfly to its location and approached it slowly and cautiously.

The dragonfly was perching vertically and the first thing I noticed was that its wings were bright and shiny, suggesting that it had only recently emerged. My initial thought was that it was a Unicorn Clubtail (Arigomphus villosipes), because of the distinctive curved tip of the abdomen. When I got home, I looked at photos of Unicorn Clubtails and doubts began to creep into my mind about the identity of this dragonfly, because the colors seemed different from the ones depicted, which were more yellow than green. I posted a photo into a Facebook group and some experts confirmed that my initial instincts had been correct.

I took shots from several different angles, wishing that I was about a foot taller so that I would not have been shooting upwards at an angle. It turned out, though, that there was an advantage to shooting upwards, for I was able to get a pretty good view in the final image of the distinctive yellow “horn” between the dragonfly’s eyes that caused it to be named “unicorn.”

Unicorn Clubtail

Unicorn Clubtail

Unicorn CLubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Unicorn Clubtail in late May

Posted in Dragonflies, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 3, 2016| 2 Comments »

Do you have a favorite dragonfly? One of my favorites is the Unicorn Clubtail (Arigomphus villosipes)—I love both its appearance and its name. Earlier this week, on the last day of May, I spent some time chasing an elusive unicorn at Huntley Meadows Park and captured a few photos of it. The second shot gives you a glimpse of the “horn” between the dragonfly’s eyes that is responsible for the first part of its name.

Unicorn Clubtail

Unicorn Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Patriotism, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 17, 2015| 3 Comments »

Unicorn Clubtail dragonflies (Arigomphus villosipes) have quickly become my favorite dragonflies this season. Their gorgeous turquoise eyes never fail to draw me in and their unusual clubtail and distinctive terminal appendages help to maintain my interest.

Unicorn Clubtails are a challenge to find and they are usually pretty skittish when you try to approach them. I have been fortunate enough to find a stream in my local marshland park where at least a couple of them can sometimes be found and patient enough to slowly search for them along the banks of the stream.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from this past Monday. I especially like the first one, in which the dragonfly seems to be cocking his head to the side and smiling at me. The second shot was taken from one side of the stream looking directly across at a Unicorn Clubtail that has assumed a defiant stance and looks to be ready to defend his territory. The final shot shows the dragonfly on a little sandy area at the edge of the stream, an area that he was sharing that day with a Common Sanddragon, a species that I will be featuring this blog sometime in the near future.

Unicorn Clubtail

Unicorn Clubtail

Unicorn Clubtail

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Chasing unicorns

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, tagged , , , , , , , on June 2, 2015| 12 Comments »

Do you believe in unicorns? I spent part of yesterday chasing a flying unicorn, although in this case it was the Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes), not the one that looks like a horse.

Unicorn Clubtail

The Unicorn Clubtail is not a mythical creature, but I rarely see one—I am lucky if I manage to see a couple during an entire season of dragonfly watching. The u-shaped terminal appendage in the male Unicorn Clubtail is pretty distinctive and as soon as I saw this image on my computer screen, I knew that I had captured a unicorn.

When I first spotted this dragonfly, it was perched on a sandy area of the bank of a small stream. I mistakenly assumed that it was a Common Sanddragon, a somewhat similar species which is also part of the clubtail family (the members of this family have slim abdomens that end in an enlarged tip, i.e. the “clubtail”). When the dragonfly flew up into some vegetation that hung over the pond, I snapped off some photos as quickly as I could, because it is rare to get shots of these dragonflies with an unobstructed background.

One of my friends, Walter Sanford, a fellow photographer and blogger suggested to me earlier this spring that I use my Tamron 150-600mm lens, one that I use primarily for birds, to photograph dragonflies. I protested a bit, suggesting that I would not be able to capture the fine details of the dragonflies with the lens, which is reported to be a little soft at the long end.

There are some challenges, including the minimum focusing distance of 107.3 inches (2.7 m), which means I have to be a pretty good distance from my subject. However, shots like this one make me realize his advice was good—the extra reach helps me get shots that I might not be able to get otherwise, especially if I tried to move closer to take a shot with a shorter telephoto lens and risked spooking the dragonfly.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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No dragonflies yet this season

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , on March 20, 2015| 5 Comments »

On a beautiful sunny day this past Monday I searched diligently for the first dragonflies of the spring at my local marshland park. I knew that it was probably too early for dragonflies, but somehow I hoped that the 65 degree temperatures (18 degrees C) would magically cause them to appear.

I traipsed through the mud and along the banks of several streams; I examined vernal pools where the frogs were already active; and I walked though fields where the dried-up vegetation was neck high. I looked and looked for half a day, but came up empty-handed.

Later in the week I was going over some photos from last June and came across this image of a Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes). There was something about the image that really appealed to me.

So here is a memory of the past, with hopes for an equally successful dragonfly hunting season as we move into spring.

Unicorn Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Unicorn Clubtail

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 21, 2014| 5 Comments »

Do you believe in unicorns? I spent part of yesterday chasing a flying unicorn, although it was the Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes), not the one that looks like a horse.

Normally Unicorn Clubtails like to perch on flat surfaces, but this one chose to perch on a dead branch overlooking the muddy stream, allowing me to get a good look at it and a decent photograph.

Many people seem to like unicorns and rainbows. Now that I have captured a unicorn, I’m on the lookout for a rainbow–and it looks like it may rain later today.

unicorn1_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Unicorn Clubtail

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 16, 2013| 3 Comments »

When an unfamiliar dragonfly zoomed by me, one of my fellow photographers told me it was a unicorn, at least that is what I thought he said.

Sometimes when I am concentrating on a shot, I shut out my surroundings and I had had to ask him to explain his comment. It turns out that he said that it was a Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes), a type that he had rarely seen in our local marsh.

I extended my 135-400mm zoom to almost maximum range and it still was tough to get a clear shot. The dragonfly flew off and returned to his perch a couple of times, but the log on which he posed was so far away that my shot doesn’t permit me to say with great certainty that it is a Unicorn Clubtail. It is clear, though, that it not a Common Whitetail or Blue Dasher, the two types of dragonflies that I see most often.

Overall, I like the effect of the triple view of the dragonfly—the dragonfly, its shadow on the log, and its reflection in the water, which, for me, helps to compensate for the softness of the focus.

unicorn_blog

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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