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June 8, 2014 — Dane County

Middleton Hills ponds and wetlands on Century Avenue in Middleton.

Comet Darner (Anax longipes)
Observed
We returned to this site nearly a week after photographing the Comet Darner to see if it could be recovered. We only saw it for about 2 seconds before it vanished. So its difficult to recover.
Carolina Saddlebags (Tramea carolina)
Photographed
I also wanted to check out the seemingly numerous Red Saddlebags because it seemed to be a great year first for very rare stray birds and then the Comet Darner. Might there be a rare Carolina Saddlebags here? We found a big drop in the number of reddish Saddlebags compared to the week before. We found one perched which was cooperative for photography. Examining the photos I was amazed that that one individual turned out to be a Carolina Saddlebags! Photo 1 shows that the black wing patch extends completely through the foot-shaped veins. Also the black on abdominal segment 8 extends fully down the side. Photo 2 shows the typical male secondary genitalia of a Carolina Saddlebags. Photo 3 shows the very small triangular clear part of the interior edge of the black wing patch. Karl and Dorothy Legler. (3 photos)