ArielSD
Calico Pennantღღღ
My first Calico Pennant, Celithemis Elisa, Male.
I have been searching for this dragonfly for the ENTIRE Spring and Summer. Finally, at long last, on my trek around my favorite lake today, there he was. He was the very first dragonfly that I saw. First, I saw a burst of red which flew over to a patch of grass and perched for a moment. Eastern Amberwings sometimes perch in the grass and I thought he might be one. Then he flew into the flowers and I was able to see his glorious markings and color. I held my breath as I took pictures. I did not want to scare him away and unfortunately my angle was not great to get a full shot from behind. I did the best I could and of course he did eventually fly away.
The funny thing is earlier this Summer I took two pics of what I thought was an Eastern Amberwing and when I looked at the pics later, it was in fact two blurry pics of the Calico Pennant. I was really annoyed I had not realized it at the time. Since I had never seen these guys in person I did not realize how small they are. They are not much bigger than the Eastern Amberwings which are one of the smallest dragonflies. I guess my Blue Dasher luck is coming to fruition in finding this beauty today. Thanks little Blue Dasher!
"The Calico Pennant has patterned wings, bright stigmas, and colorful markings along the abdomen. Calico Pennants all begin their adult life with yellow abdominal markings and yellow stigmas. As males mature, the yellow gives way to red.
For the mature male, these include red heart-shaped markings along the top of the abdomen, and red stigmas. They are sometimes called Valentine Pennants due to this chain of tiny hearts. Coloration on the sides of the thorax is reddish, and the face is red as well. Wings include several brown spots, though note that an occasional individual is missing some of the spots.
Females and immature males have yellow spots on the abdomen, not quite as heart-shaped as on the mature males. The spot patterns on the wing are essentially the same as with mature males, but the stigmas are yellow instead of red."
Calico Pennantღღღ
My first Calico Pennant, Celithemis Elisa, Male.
I have been searching for this dragonfly for the ENTIRE Spring and Summer. Finally, at long last, on my trek around my favorite lake today, there he was. He was the very first dragonfly that I saw. First, I saw a burst of red which flew over to a patch of grass and perched for a moment. Eastern Amberwings sometimes perch in the grass and I thought he might be one. Then he flew into the flowers and I was able to see his glorious markings and color. I held my breath as I took pictures. I did not want to scare him away and unfortunately my angle was not great to get a full shot from behind. I did the best I could and of course he did eventually fly away.
The funny thing is earlier this Summer I took two pics of what I thought was an Eastern Amberwing and when I looked at the pics later, it was in fact two blurry pics of the Calico Pennant. I was really annoyed I had not realized it at the time. Since I had never seen these guys in person I did not realize how small they are. They are not much bigger than the Eastern Amberwings which are one of the smallest dragonflies. I guess my Blue Dasher luck is coming to fruition in finding this beauty today. Thanks little Blue Dasher!
"The Calico Pennant has patterned wings, bright stigmas, and colorful markings along the abdomen. Calico Pennants all begin their adult life with yellow abdominal markings and yellow stigmas. As males mature, the yellow gives way to red.
For the mature male, these include red heart-shaped markings along the top of the abdomen, and red stigmas. They are sometimes called Valentine Pennants due to this chain of tiny hearts. Coloration on the sides of the thorax is reddish, and the face is red as well. Wings include several brown spots, though note that an occasional individual is missing some of the spots.
Females and immature males have yellow spots on the abdomen, not quite as heart-shaped as on the mature males. The spot patterns on the wing are essentially the same as with mature males, but the stigmas are yellow instead of red."