Is this a male Male Variegated Meadowhawk? - Sympetrum corruptum

Moved

… William Edwards, 4 July, 2017 - 10:27am

I believe so

I think that you're right. I always use those two yellow dots at the end of the white stripes on the thorax as my guide. You see them on your second picture too.

… Stephen, 4 July, 2017 - 8:51am

Thanks

Nice, I was wondering about those two yellow dots. Do both the genders have them?

… Kala King, 4 July, 2017 - 9:31am

Yellow Dots

Yes - both genders do have them.

I'm not sure about the gender.
I think that it is sometimes difficult to tell the genders apart in this species.

… William Edwards, 4 July, 2017 - 10:27am

Hmmm

I thought you could see claspers and that was why I was saying male. On both dragonflies. Is that not a good field mark for this species?

… Kala King, 4 July, 2017 - 11:01am

Gender Differences

The females of this species have notably long cerci similar to the male.
Often the females appear to me to have thicker & stouter abdomens.
Also the male's abdomen usually looks somewhat thinner and slightly constricted in the middle as compared to the female.
In your image, to me, it's hard to tell if it's a male's or a female's cerci.
To me the abdomen looks rather stout for a male but again I'm not sure.
That's why I let the gender stay as a male on your image.

Male
http://bugguide.net/node/view/699665/bgimage

Female
http://bugguide.net/node/view/1069191/bgimage

… William Edwards, 4 July, 2017 - 2:35pm

Thank you

I see what you mean. Your example of a female demonstrate your point perfectly, I would have called that a male without looking closer. I would trust your judgement, if you decide you like female for mine better, either or both of them, let me know and I'll change it in my gallery.

… Kala King, 4 July, 2017 - 2:58pm