Dragonfly Alley

A few days ago we visited an area that was new to us, referred to locally as "Dragonfly Alley." On the map its proper name is Queen Valley, and it lies about midway between Gold Canyon and the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Here's a map of the general area:



Here's a close-up view of the community itself:



Queen Valley is a small little town, centered around a source of water and a golf course. There's nothing else near it—just wild desert.

It also happens to be a great place for dragonflies and damselflies. Over the year, a total of 59 species have been seen in Queen Valley. We went early in the season, so our species list was more like 15 or so. And since this is an early-season population, it consisted of about twice as many damselflies as dragonflies—more or less the reverse of what is typically seen in mid season.

The first odonate we saw as we got out of the car was the Aztec Dancer.



What lovely, intense blue colors it has on both the body and the eyes. Here it is taking off:



This species preferred the shoreline of one of the ponds on the edge of the golf course. Also prominent in the same area was the Familiar Bluet:



Notice how the bluet folds its wing along the abdomen—almost forming a "tent" over the abdomen. In contrast, the wings of dancers are held high above the abdomen.

At a nearby stream, we found the Springwater Dancer.



We were looking for an American Rubyspot here as well, since this is their preferred habitat. After a few minutes one indeed showed up:



One of the most interesting odonates we saw that day was a female Filigree Skimmer. Here she is perched in the sun:



She blends in to the surroundings so well with her wings that look like dried-up leaves and her abdomen that looks like a twig. Notice also her boldly-striped eyes and prominent egg scoop under the abdomen near the tip. Quite the dragonfly.

Queen Valley was a fun place to explore. It's just a small valley in the middle of the desert, hot as blazes, but a great spot for dragonfly watching.