Swamp Darner dragonfly (male)

Epiaeschna heros

Description:

A Swamp Darner dragonfly spotted along the "Hike-Bike Trail" at Huntley Meadows Park. Swamp Darners are the largest dragonflies at Huntley Meadows. "This [very] large common species has brilliant blue eyes and a brown body with green thoracic stripes and narrow green abdominal rings. The wings are often heavily tinged with amber. ... The caudal appendages are long in both sexes. The male appendages are complex and distinctly hairy [as shown in Photo 4 of 5]." Source Credit: Odonata Central, Dragonfly Society of the Americas. Photo 2 of 5 is Photo 1, rotated 180 degrees in order to create a face-on view of the dragonfly.