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Calico Pennant, Immature male

Celithemis elisa

Description:

Adult males have red heart-shaped markings on the dorsal side of the abdomen that is yellow in the females. Distinctive wing pattern, bold heart-shaped marks on abdomen, becoming bright red in mature male. This is a juvenile or immature male, where the color pattern has not yet red. Length is 3.0 cm. Thanks to Geodialist for the assistance on determining the sex of this dragonfly.

Habitat:

Ponds, lakes with marshy borders of Eastern and central North America. This one was photographed in the midlands of South Carolina in Edgefield County.

Notes:

March to October in much of ranger, June to August in north. Predatory, forages in fields, perching on the tips of plants, as do other pennants. Males are not territorial, perch along edges of ponds, on the lookout for incoming females. Pairs perch on vegetation near water while mating, oviposit as a pair.

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6 Comments

Geodialist
Geodialist 11 years ago

Thanks for the extra effort, Ken! Your dragonfly is definitely an immature/juvenile male Calico Pennant.

KenCheeks
KenCheeks 11 years ago

Geodialist, I cropped a few photos and added them. Can you make a call on the sex from the added images? Thanks for posting the comments and links.

Telse
Telse 11 years ago

Beautiful!

Geodialist
Geodialist 11 years ago

Here's a pointer to several good photos that show immature/juvenile male Calico Pennants. http://www.pbase.com/rcm1840/calico_penn...

Geodialist
Geodialist 11 years ago

Can you post more photos of this specimen, Ken? I'm looking at the terminal appendages and thinking this individual may be an immature male.

alicelongmartin
alicelongmartin 11 years ago

A Beauty!

KenCheeks
Spotted by
KenCheeks

South Carolina, USA

Spotted on Aug 18, 2012
Submitted on Feb 19, 2013

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