The American Rubyspot is an impressive damselfly. It is fairly large for a damselfly, and has dazzling "ruby" spots at the base of its wings. Here is a look at the male of the species:
Here's another view, with a Blue-ringed Dancer in the background:
When an American Rubyspot wants to fend off a rival, it flicks its wings open to flash the ruby spots. It also bends the tip of its abdomen forward, and opens its appendages, in a "stinging" threat pose. In the next photo we see an American Rubyspot fending off a California Dancer that would like to perch on the same stem:
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Friday, December 25, 2015
Merry Christmas, 2015
Happy Holidays and Season's Greetings!
Special greetings from the Happy-face Dragonfly:
To help us all get in the Christmas spirit, here's a physics problem from Walker Physics involving Santa:
The situation can be visualized as follows:
And now for the calculation:
Here's a bit of insight into the results:
Ah, nothing like a physics calculation to add to the enjoyment of a day.
Merry Christmas!
Special greetings from the Happy-face Dragonfly:
To help us all get in the Christmas spirit, here's a physics problem from Walker Physics involving Santa:
The situation can be visualized as follows:
And now for the calculation:
Here's a bit of insight into the results:
Ah, nothing like a physics calculation to add to the enjoyment of a day.
Merry Christmas!
Season's Greetings
Season's Greetings from the Happy-face Darner to the readers of "The Dragonfly Whisperer" blog. Happy Holidays!
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Grady Drew It!
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Species Spotlight: American Emerald
One of the more elusive dragonflies in Anacortes is the American Emerald. So far, we've only seen this species in June and July, and then it's usually just one or two observations.
The American Emerald is an easy dragonfly to ID. Here's a shot showing the main field marks:
Of course, the most striking field mark for this species is the intense, emerald-green color of the eyes. Overall, this dragonfly looks black in flight, but when it turns toward you the eyes flash a brilliant green.
The second distinguishing field mark is the white ring at the base of the abdomen. This can be seen clearly below:
The similar-looking Ringed Emerald has a white ring at the base of each segment of the abdomen.
This is a beautiful and intriguing dragonfly. It's always a special treat to see one of them flying around Cranberry Lake.
The American Emerald is an easy dragonfly to ID. Here's a shot showing the main field marks:
Of course, the most striking field mark for this species is the intense, emerald-green color of the eyes. Overall, this dragonfly looks black in flight, but when it turns toward you the eyes flash a brilliant green.
The second distinguishing field mark is the white ring at the base of the abdomen. This can be seen clearly below:
The similar-looking Ringed Emerald has a white ring at the base of each segment of the abdomen.
This is a beautiful and intriguing dragonfly. It's always a special treat to see one of them flying around Cranberry Lake.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Dragonfly Carpet
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Christmas is Coming
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Dragonfly Whispering
A lot of people are getting interested in dragonfly whispering.
Here's a peek inside the book:
This is a Paddle-tailed Darner, the Happy-face Dragonfly, whispered onto a finger.