Maturing Eastern Pondhawk

Though this picture isn't as sharp as I'd like, it does illustrate something interesting. It's a male Eastern Pondhawk that's about halfway through getting their blue pruinose. I've shown you what mature males look like compared to immature males and all females. This fella has an almost completely blue abdomen, a slightly blue thorax, but also shows the bright green coloring that juvenile males and all females have.

As a reminder, pruinose is a waxy secretion despite frequently giving a dusty appearance. Though more common on males, older females of some species will also have it. It's not something every odonate has, but skimmers (like the Eastern Pondhawk) commonly have it. Pruinose can change the appearance of odonates quite a bit, like this Eastern Pondhawk changing from a bright green to more of a sky blue.

I'm not sure when they start defending territories and looking for females, but if it hasn't happened yet it'll be happening soon.

July 17, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 222062345, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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