Flame Skimmer id? - Libellula croceipennis

Moved

… john and jane balaban, 13 May, 2007 - 10:30am

Neon Skimmer?

I have to agree with 123odon. I don't claim to be an expert by any means, but I've been reading Tim Manolis' Dragonflies and Damselflies of California in order to ID one of my own images and I believe you have a neon skimmer here. In addition to the bright neon red appearance of the abdomen, the rust color on the wings only goes about halfway to the nodus--on a flame skimmer, this rust color should extend all the way to the nodus. I also don't see the brown streaks at the wing base that should be present if this were a flame skimmer--they would certainly be visible in the other picture. Just my humble opinion. =)
~Tim

… Timothy Boomer, 13 May, 2007 - 4:24am

Nice catch, Tim

We'll move them to Neon. What do you think about 82785 and 54289?

… john and jane balaban, 13 May, 2007 - 10:29am

It's hard to say...

but I'm leaning toward neon skimmer for 82785 as it doesn't look like the rusty wash extends far enough out on the wings to be a flame skimmer. For 54289, it's even harder to say, but I'm leaning toward flame skimmer because there APPEARS to be a faint rusty wash along the coastal stripe out to the pterostigma (but it could just be the image quality that makes it look that way). Again, this is just how they appear to me; it's really hard to say without more detailed images.

… Timothy Boomer, 18 May, 2007 - 2:22pm

Sympetrum

We'd guess more likely one of the Meadowhawks, but there are three or four like this so we'll have to consult a guide.

… john and jane balaban, 1 August, 2005 - 11:10pm

Looks like a Neon Skimmer wit

Looks like a Neon Skimmer with the bright red coloring on the body, but there seems to be some coloring in the wings as well. It is a difficult pic to id because of the position of the dragonfly combined with the poor lighting.

… 123odon, 22 September, 2006 - 7:06pm

Size

It's always hard to judge size in an image, but if he was close to two inches long, we're going to agree with you and say Flame Skimmer. We checked through all the meadowhawks, which would be significantly smaller animals and none of them quite fit. Also they usually swing their wings forward and down when they land (but not always!) which we don't see here. So we're hoping it was big and we'll retract our reservation, and agree with you! Welcome to BugGuide. We hope to see more of your images.

… john and jane balaban, 2 August, 2005 - 11:05am