Backyard Wildlife: Great Spreadwing Damselfly
Posted on August 24, 2008 Comments (6)
If you know the what type of dragonfly is in the photo, please add a comment (update: a comment indicates it is not a dragonfly but a Great Spreadwing Archilestes grandis damselfly – I really enjoy getting feedback like this. It appears the most common way to differentiate the two is how the wings are at rest but the Spreadwing is an exception). I had a small preying mantis drop on my head, and then the ground, a month ago in my backyard. But when I got my digital camera I couldn’t find it again. The variety of insects you can see can be amazing, especially if you don’t use poisons and chemicals in your yard.
Photo by John Hunter, creative commons attribution license.
Related: Backyard Wildlife: Sharpshinned Hawk – Backyard Wildlife: Fox – posts on insects
Categories: Life Science, Students
Tags: backyard wildlife, insects, John Hunter, photos
6 Responses to “Backyard Wildlife: Great Spreadwing Damselfly”
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August 24th, 2008 @ 4:30 pm
Your lovely insect is actually a damselfly rather than a dragonfly. I’m sure of that. The yellow stripe on the thorax and spread wings suggests the great spreadwing, Archilestes grandis, to me, but it might be only near that.
Hope that helps.
August 25th, 2008 @ 5:52 am
the details on the wings are amaizing.
In French your insect is a libellule…
January 27th, 2009 @ 7:39 pm
“Leaf-footed bugs have sucking mouthparts and sometimes feed of fruit such as cactus fruit, oranges or peaches…”
April 7th, 2010 @ 7:12 am
[…] Backyard Wildlife: Great Spreadwing Damselfly – Researchers Learn What Sparks Plant Growth – What Are Flowers For? – Antelope […]
November 18th, 2010 @ 8:02 pm
See some more great photos of the hike on Penang Island in Malaysia, from the Capturing Penang blog…
July 1st, 2013 @ 12:43 pm
I love nature and I LOVE pictures of nature!!!! I’m not sure if my comment will make it to your post but I wanted to leave a comment as I share your love for the beauty of nature.