Widow Skimmer

Here's another Widow Skimmer. You can't see a lot of body detail here, but the wing pattern is sufficient to identify this as a male Widow Skimmer. The hindwings start with a prominent black basal spot followed by a bright white spot and then ends with clear wings. The forewings are similar but the basal area starts clear before mimicking the hindwings.

Sometimes common names suggest one gender or the other, leaving us with the confusing "male widow" terminology. Painted Lady butterflies are another example. Even more gender-confusingly, Widow Skimmers are considered to be in the group of dragonflies called King Skimmers.

The females look differently, with gold stripes on the tail exhibiting yet another example of sexual dimorphism.



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