New Dragonfly Species for My Yard

On July 4, 2024, I saw two dragonflies land on my cyclone fence. They were much more interested in each other than me, which allowed me to go inside and quickly grab my camera. Both appeared to be newly emerged dragonflies of the same species. After reviewing the photos, I thought they were either Bar-winged Skimmers (Libellula axilena) or Slaty Skimmers (Libellula incesta). I knew they were in the Genus Libellula - the Chasers and Skimmers, but wasn't sure about the exact species. I posted them with an ID of "Libellula" and waited patiently (at least I thought I was patient) for a more definitive identification. After no response for several days, I decided to tag Giff Beaton - a dragonfly expert who wrote "Dragonflies and Damselflies of Georgia and the Southeast". I had confirmed some IDs of other species for this expert, so I thought I'd tag him to get his opinion on mine. Sure enough, he confirmed one of my two observations as a Slaty Skimmer. I only had one view of the 2nd Dragonfly, which Giff said was not adequate for a definitive ID to species. However, he suggested that they were likely the same species - since they were so close to each other and interacting. These observations were cool, because they are a new species for my yard. Plus, I had one confirmed by one of the foremost experts on dragonflies in the Southeast. The photo on the left is a female that Giff Beaton confirmed. The right photo is highly likely to be the same species, but a concrete ID does not appear possible from this view.

Posted on July 9, 2024 02:13 AM by kencheeks