Forest Fires And "White Spots" On The Hudsonian Whiteface

I'm often asked about the "white spots" that are seen on the eyes of dragonflies. Here are a couple examples of these "white spots" on the eyes of male Hudsonian Whitefaces:





The "white spots" are reflections of the sun, and these pictures were taken on clear, sunny days. In addition, the second picture clearly shows the whitish wing tips characteristic of whitefaces.

The next photo shows a pair of Hudsonian Whitefaces in the wheel position at Beaver Pond in Winthrop, WA. Notice that the "white spots" on both the male and female are subdued in intensity, and distinctly orange in color.



Here's a closer look at the sun's reflection on the male's eye:



The reason for the orange "white spots" is that on the day we visited Beaver Pond there was a great deal of smoke in the air from forest fires in British Columbia. This resulted in the sun being reduced in intensity, and distinctly orangish in color. This is the first time I've had pictures showing "white spots" that are actually orange.

You can find a discussion of "white spots" in my new field guide, Common Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Pacific Coast, shown below.



Here's a link to the Amazon page:

Amazon Link

You will also find a discussion of the whitish wings tips of whitefaces in my field guide. As far as I know, other field guides don't mention this feature, but it is a useful field mark and interesting to observe with binoculars.