Costa Rica: Familiar Friends

We had a delightful time Costa Rica, enjoying the scenery, wildlife, and friendly people. We found a few odonates, and some were rather familiar to us. For example, we ran across this Familiar Bluet on a small pond on a coffee plantation:



As its name suggests, the Familiar Bluet is a common and frequently seen damselfly, especially in Arizona where they are already out in significant numbers.

The next day, we discovered a Carmine Skimmer, which is found in the United States, and is very similar to the Roseate Skimmers we see frequently in Arizona. Here's a picture of the male:



The female was busy laying eggs on some sheet-metal roofing lying on the ground. I guess it was shiny enough, and polarized light enough, to make her think it was water. The male guarded her until she took off for a rest, then he too took time off and perched conveniently for me to take some pictures.

Costa Rica: Cerulean Dancer

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Costa Rica. It was a first trip to that country for us, and we explored a number of different areas and habitats. Here's a rough look at our itinerary:



We were there during the dry season, which was great for us, but not as conducive to seeing odonates. Even so, we did see a few. Our first was the Cerulean Dancer, which we saw at a small pond on a tour of a coffee plantation. Here's a look at this attractive damselfly:



Notice its "dancer" habit of holding its wings high above the abdomen when perched. Later we saw a pair laying eggs, with the female partially submerged:



Here's a side view:



It would have been interesting to watch to see if the female would eventually go completely underwater, but we had to get back to join the tour. We only had a few minutes to observe this damselfly, and get a few pictures, but it was fun to see a new species for us in a new country.