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Photo#728840
Blue Dragonfly - Pachydiplax longipennis

Blue Dragonfly - Pachydiplax longipennis
Long Beach, Orange County, California, USA
June 17, 2012
El Dorado Nature Center 12:50pm

Blue Dasher Dragonfly
Moved from ID Request.

Uphillrider,
[Sorry, I don't know your name]. While there is no shortage of Blue Dashers in California, I'm thinking this one can hold its own.
Robert

Looks to be male, Pachydiplax longipennis
these all blue western ones are sometimes confusing

 
Dragonfly Id
What other angles, or body parts make an ID easier?

 
views for i.d
If life were perfect..... side view, esp. the thorax; on males - closeup side and top view of the cerci, though depending on family and species an oblique angle will sometimes do; the face, esp. for darners; side view of the end of the abdomen for female spreadwings; forewings of Leucorrhinia spp. with veins in the wing clearly visible. There's an awful lot of "It depends on what species you are trying to separate" You'll often find yourself thinking "If I'd only taken a picture of......" If you get a field guide you can learn the species in your area and what features are used to tell closely related ones apart.

 
Sorry, we do think the ID given is firm
Just wanted to let you know that these are sometimes confused with Erythemis. The fringe behind the eyes and the eye color are distinctive for Pachydiplax. A lateral shot might show the striping on the thorax, but the thorax could be all blue, too. A semi-frontal shot would show the blue eyes and white face with a black spot above it.

 
Dragonfly ID
Thanks for the info, checked to see if I had another angle on this individual but I don't. Most dragonflies do not give one much time to get a lot of different angles. I will keep this info in mine for future shots.

 
Beautiful photos, by the way,
Sometimes we get so caught up in the IDs, we forget to mention how lovely the pictures are! Thank you for sharing with all of us.

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