As promised, this month will feature a some insects - particularly dragonflies - seen during a July hike years ago in Clark Bay Conservation Area.
Clark Bay Conservation Area (CBCA) is a St. Johns Water Management District property in Volusia County of over 5000 acres including wetlands that are the headwaters of Little Haw Creek. CBCA is located north of Highway 92 between Daytona Beach and DeLand just west of Tiger Bay State Forest.
For more about this property, its habitats and some of the plants, see last month's blog post.
There were at least six species of dragonflies seen on this summer day in Clark Bay, all members of the skimmer (Libellulidae) family. Most of these I had seen before in various areas of the state, but one was new to me, the ornate pennant, which is sometimes called the faded pennant.
Ornate pennants (Celithemis ornata) have a distinctive usually amber area at the base of the otherwise clear hindwings. This spot will typically have several black stripes crossing it and in some males the spot may be more brown. The photo at the top of this post is also an ornate pennant.
ornate pennant perched on leaf
Eastern pondhawks (Erythemis simplicicollis) are one of Florida's more common and widespread dragonflies and one of the first that I ever photographed. In this species the mature males and females look very different. I only captured an image of a female at Clark Bay. Juveniles and females are grass-green and have black spots or bands on the abdomen. As males mature their abdomens turn pale blue. Other common names for this dragonfly include common pondhawk and green jacket.
Eastern pondhawk - female or juvenile
Another dragonfly in which the mature males have a blue abdomen is the appropriately named blue dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis). Males also have a white face and metallic green eyes that become bluish with age. The females and juveniles look quite different, having a black abdomen with broken yellow stripes and reddish-brown eyes. I also did not photograph any of these males at Clark Bay.
blue dasher female or juvenile on needlepod rush
The next dragonfly is a little blue dragonlet (Erythrodiplax minuscula) and they are only about an inch long. You may be wondering why this dragonfly is perched with its abdomen sticking up. This is called the obelisk posture and it helps with regulating the body heat on a hot summer day by orienting the abdomen so that less sun shines on it.
little blue dragonlet in obelisk posture
I saw two more dragonflies this day at Clark Bay and they were both skimmers, not just the family, but the genus Libellula. First is a great blue skimmer, Florida's largest, and found most frequently in coastal states from Texas to Maine.
great blue skimmer
The second skimmer is a Needham's skimmer. This species is named for James G. Needham (1868-1957), head of the Department of Entomology at Cornell University & author of "A Handbook of the Dragonflies of North America" (1929).
Needham's skimmer on needlepod rush
A selection of my other dragonfly photographs including several of male blue dashers can be purchased online at paul-rebmann.pixels.com/art/dragonfly. If you want to see even more dragonflies visit my earlier blog post "Pretty Little Dragonflies".
I hope that you enjoyed this brief look at these dragonflies.
Clicking on any of the links or images above will take you to the Wild Florida Photo page for that species where you can find more photos of and information about that subject.
Paul Rebmann
August 29, 2024
