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Project Noah Nature School
Libellula needhami
A mating pair of Needham's Skimmer dragonflies spotted along the boardwalk that goes through the central wetland area at Huntley Meadows Park. The pair is shown "in wheel" in Photos 1-3 (of 4). All dragonflies and damselflies have a 10-segmented abdomen: male dragonfly secondary genitalia are located in segments two and three (2 and 3); female genitalia in segment eight (8). Therefore, the male dragonfly is on top; the female is on the bottom. The female half of the pair is shown in Photo 4, resting immediately after copulation with her male partner. Look closely at the full-size version of Photo 4. Notice the flanges beneath the female's eighth abdominal segment that are used to scoop and hold a few drops of water during oviposition.
Huntley Meadows Park, a 1,425 acre wetland area in Fairfax County, Virginia USA. Related Resource: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/huntl...
Copyright © 2012 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved. www.wsanford.com
Spotted on Jul 12, 2012
Submitted on Jul 13, 2012
2 Comments
Thanks for the kind words, Brian! I noticed you favorited a spotting by "Louisa." http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/124... Turns out Louisa and I were standing about three feet apart when we spotted the mating pair -- interesting to see the same event photographed from two slightly different perspectives.
outstanding capture of these two in tandem