100 Species #64: Common whitetail

[urbpan]

This female common whitetail Plathemis lydia was resting on the fence of our little yard.

There is a swampy area a few hundred feet from our house, and Turtle Pond and Stony Brook are not far down the road. Still we were surprised--but gratified--to see dragonflies hunting in the yard. Dragonflies are active predators, catching other insects in flight. Male common whitetails have fat bluish-white abdomens, but as when this animal was 100 urban species #32, I have photographed the less distinctive female. Spots on the wings caused me to misidentify it as a 12 spotted skimmer, despite having seen the species before.

Comments

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

saw the largest jumping type spider ever today. it was super curious and quite amusing to watch. very visual thingy. it kept trying to get up an umbrella, and it would arch way back to look straight up. that seemed kinda too smart if you know what i mean :)

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