#orthetrum

Ventured down the valley from Millhouse on Friday and found a small patch of sphagnum bog on the valley floor in the middle of what is mostly well-drained, improved pasture land. It was home to a lively colony of keeled skimmers - Orthetrum coerulescens, also sundews and pirate wolf spiders.

although black-tailed skimmers (Orthetrum cancellatum) and many of its relatives are known for the mature males' admittedly very fancy sky blue abdomen, i like the females' gold just as much. this one was more muted than usual, almost a bronze, which could be due to her being an older individual or perhaps me having to crank the exposure down to be able to see anything

Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum), immature female, family Libellulidae, Germany

An immature male black tailed skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) in The Burren, Ireland

Blue Marsh Hawk - Orthetrum sp.

As the common name of this insect suggests, it can be found near wetlands and marshes in a similar to the Dragonflies that call Toronto home. There are likely many small flying insects to seize and (when the time is right) a mate to be found. However, this older male isn't blue...at least not anymore. Several male Dragonflies of the Orthetrum genus initially display a vibrant blue color on their head and thorax, and become coated in white, waxy pruinose as they age. Maybe it's faded blue or blue-grey at best. The Common Whitetail may provide more insight on this change Dragonfly males go through. Females are decorated with black that is accentuated with yellow and green depending on the specie, making them quite distinct from their male counterparts. And of course, to be sure we have a male individual in these pictures: the abdominal claspers are there! This Skimmer is most definitely a male enjoying the rivers and ponds of this Laos wilderness. Unfortunately, that's about all that can be gathered in terms of identification.

Since these photos come from my dear friend Sarali as she traveled through Asia, there is no live specimen to handle and inspect. Only the glimpses of pictures into a tropical world and its fauna. More seriously, due to overlapping geographic ranges and the similarities between male Blue Marsh Hawks (especially once they begin to turn white), narrowing a find down to a specie can be difficult, or outright impossible! I've done my share of searching and comparing in order to find a specie that matches this find, but the closest I've gotten in terms of a match is Orthetrum japonicum... I'm not confident on it. For the longest time, I thought it might've been Orthetrum glaucum (a more widespread find in Laos), but when researching that specie, there was a prominent detail missing: the last 2 abdominal segments should be prominently colored black. Even coated in pruinose, the segments would be seen. As such, this is likely isn't O. glaucum, but the possibility is always there. I looked back to the latter a few times since it has a dark-colored frons and clypeus (the face). Most of its relatives that look similar showcase white-colored faces, scratching off many other possible identifications. I'll revisit this post when I can with a more definitive insect ID, if at all possible.