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LinkedInPosts Tagged: red flameskimmer
Like a Lens to a Flame
It's a delight to see the flameskimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata). This male made its appearance in our Vacaville pollinator garden on May 17, and hung around long enough for me to capture several images. Like a lens to a flame... When folks talk about seeing "a red dragonfly,"...
The male flameskimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata) is firecracker red. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A different angle, but the same gorgeous flameskimmer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Dragonfly vs. Bee: Catch of the Day
The red flameskimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata) waits oh-so-patiently atop a bamboo stick at the edge of the pollinator garden. She's in Vacaville, Calif., and the garden she is visiting today is a veritable oasis of blooms: Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia), butterfly bush (Buddleia...
A red flameskimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata) with her prey, a female sweat bee, Halictus ligatus, as identified by Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis. The gender of the flamekimmer identified by Kathy Claypool Biggs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The red flameskimmer dragonfly adjusts her prey, a sweat bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Beneath all of that pollen is a female sweat bee, the prey of this red flameskimmer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
All gone. The red flameskimmer polishes off the last of the sweat bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Meet Big Red, the Flameskimmer
Big Red visited us for four consecutive days. The red flameskimmer dragonfly, Libellula saturata, zigged and zagged into our pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif. and perched on a bamboo stake for five hours at a time. Occasionally, he'd hunt--lift off and grab a bee or other insect--and return...
A red flameskimmer, Libellula saturata, perches on a bamboo stake. Note the nesting earwigs and bees in the split stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A red flameskimmer, Libellula saturata, sparkles in the sun. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Helicopter? No, a red flameskimmer, Libellula saturata, glimmering in the sunlight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A flameskimmer,Libellula saturata, in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Stalking the Red Flameskimmer
Who doesn't love the red flameskimmer dragonfly, Libellula saturata? If the Fourth of July had its own insect, it would be the firecracker red flameskimmer. It's so showy and eye-popping red that it almost looks patriotic. Or at least it should be flying over an Independence Day parade while a...
Red flameskimmer dragonfly perching on a bamboo stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Red flameskimmer dragonfly against a solid background: a fence covered with a shade cloth. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Red flameskimmer blends in a background filled with Jupiter's beard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Takeoff! All systems are go. Or green. Red flameskimmer adjusts its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Why That Ol' Flame Stakes Out the Back Yard
Sometimes the red flameskimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata) will let you approach it. Sometimes it's having a bad hair day or a bad predator/prey day or a just-leave-me-alone day and won't let you near it. This one (below) let me approach it. "Hey," I told my new flame, "I'm not going to hurt...
Red flameskimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata) perches on a bamboo stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hmm, is this my best side? Red flameskimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata) perching on a bamboo stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The red flameskimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata) tries a new position. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Late afternoon sun sets the red flameskimmer aglow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
