Eastern Pondhawks

Let's show two of these guys today. They are a pair of Eastern Pondhawks I met about the same time a couple months back.

The blue one is certainly a male. The green one is probably a female, though juvenile males of this species look an awful lot like females. As with many dragonflies, as the males age they become covered with pruinose, especially on the abdomen, but in Eastern Pondhawks you'll also see this on the thorax. In some species the pruinose is mostly white (like in Common Whitetails and Widow Skimmers), but in Eastern Pondhawks it's light blue. So while there's quite a bit of sexual dimorphism in mature Eastern Pondhawks, there's almost no sexual dimorphism amongst the juveniles.

Finally, while it's possible that these 2 crazy kids might be a couple and have larvae together, it's at least possible the green one will eventually be a blue rival of the already-blue pondhawk.
Presumed female Eastern Pondhawk
June 17, 2021 at the Plainsboro Preserve
Photo 141960057, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Male Eastern Pondhawk
June 17, 2021 at the Plainsboro Preserve
Photo 141960075, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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