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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) » Dragonflies (Anisoptera) » Common Skimmers (Libellulidae) » Brachymesia » Red-tailed Pennant (Brachymesia furcata)
Photo#79906
Red-tailed Pennant - Brachymesia furcata - female
Copyright © 2006 Gary Rankin

Red-tailed Pennant - Brachymesia furcata - Female
San Antonio area, Bexar County, Texas, USA
September 27, 2006
I've looked at a ton of images today and I'm still not sure which one this is, or if I've even found a match at all. It looks to me like some sort of Skimmer. I thought at first it may be a Neon, or even a Needham's Skimmer, but the wings were not the right color. I think the closest I was able to find is the Red-tailed Pennant male. However, this one is more of an orangeish/red than pure red. I'm not sure if that's normal or not and thought I'd bounce this one off you guys and see if anyone can point me in the right direction?

This is the best of several images I got today. I'll post a couple more of different angles and hope they help. However, the side view that shows the thorax the best is a bit out of focus. Sorry, that's the best I could get under the circumstances and my point & shot digi cam.

Thanks,
GD

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Red-tailed Pennant - Brachymesia furcata - female Red-tailed Pennant - Brachymesia furcata - female Red-tailed Pennant - Brachymesia furcata - female
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Contributed by Gary Rankin on 27 September, 2006 - 9:20pm
Last updated 27 September, 2006 - 11:28pm

Red-tailed Pennant
Note the black stripe on S8-S9, and the amber wing spots. The color confused you because this is a female (note the underdeveloped cerci and lack of epiproct).
… Cliff Bernzweig, 27 September, 2006 - 10:30pm login or register to post comments

 
Ahh ok
I'm with you now. I had never really looked into the *sexing* of these until today. I knew they are generally differently marked and colored, but hadn't ever researched it beyond that.

Odly enough I was noticing the differences on some of the males and females in the scan images on Digital Dragonflies today while trying to find a match for this one.

I did look at the Red-tailed Pennant guide page here too and noticed the images of female here are a good deal lighter in color, that's why I thought it may be a male. That's just the lighting I guess?

Thanks again :)
… Gary Rankin, 27 September, 2006 - 11:22pm login or register to post comments

 
Pennant
This one is more orange than the other photos of female Red-tails I have seen, which are more grayish-brown or tan. One thing to be aware of is that often, mature females of certain species can be colored much like the males, developing bright colors, pruinescence, etc., and that young males can often be colored like females. A few dragons and quite a few damsels (like Bluets) have two female forms, a "normal" form and a "male-like" form, which can be quite convincing. Once you get used to looking for the sexual characteristics, though, it becomes easier to distinguish between them.
… Cliff Bernzweig, 28 September, 2006 - 1:46am login or register to post comments

 
That makes sense
I wasn't aware of that with the females, but now that you mention it I do remember reading about how young males (in certain species) often develop their color as they mature.

That's good to know and should help out a lot. Thanks for the info, you're always most helpful Cliff. Cheers bud!
… Gary Rankin, 28 September, 2006 - 6:46am login or register to post comments

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