Comet Darner (Anax longipes)
Photographed
Edgar Spalding found this on May 31. Dorothy and I relocated it on June 2. Typical male behavior at pond: prolonged high-speed cruising around the pond. Aggressive interactions. Observed with 10X binoculars. Very distinctive with long slender uniformly bright red abdomen. We never saw it perch or leave the pond. Face green. No prominent dark markings on front such as bulls-eye. Abdomen of juvenile female junius is not bright red. Photos show the bulky abdomen of a flyer. Color of dark abdomen measured using "eyedropper" tool in photo editing software, to measure the RGB color components (red, green, blue) show green is the strongest color component indicating the darkish thorax has a green cast. Comet Darner is the only male dragonfly in North America with both a bright red abdomen and a green thorax. Photo shows green face. Of 21 species in North America for which males have a red abdomen, only one has a green face, the male Comet Darner. CONCLUSION: This dragonfly was exactly what it appeared to be, a male Comet Darner. Karl Legler (2 photos)