A red skimmer spotted at
5 Rivers - Alabama's Delta Resource Center during Bug Swarm 2012. I am not sure whether this is
Libellula needhami or
L. auripennis. As seen in the detail photo of the left wing, the color on the leading edge of the forewing does appear to change slightly at the node indicating
L. needhami, but I think there are only 3 paranal cells proximal to the anal loop, which suggests
L. auripennis. Some
L needhami, however, have 3 on one wing and four on the other as shown in some of
these examples and
this individual. The BugGuide data also suggest that
L needhami is more common in Alabama. (
Note: this interpretation of the data isn't quite right – see comments below.)
gathering_2012