Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in photo #1?
The answer to last week’s mystery is blue dasher dragonfly, Pachydiplax longipennis, pictured in photo #2.
The blue dasher dragonfly is one of the most common dragonflies in North America and can be found at most still, calm water habitats within its wide range.
Blue dashers are small skimmers. Mature male blue dashers, as pictured here, are chalky blue with a dark abdomen tip, white face, and turquoise eyes. There is a wedge of rust color on each side of the abdomen, behind the wings. Female blue dashers are a little less colorful and have red eyes, as opposed to blue.
Some dragonflies perch with their abdomens pointed upward as a means of thermoregulation. The position is typically used for cooling, lowering the amount of body surface exposed to the sun.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.
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