Violet Dancer

Ponds can be a great place to find dragonflies and damselflies. At the Sourland Mountain Preserve, I've had a lot of success getting pictures of them around a pond adjacent to the parking lot. Here's another place that can be good for spotting them: the Duck Pond at Duke Island Park. (Technically I suspect that the best thing about looking for them at these locations primarily because you've got easy access to the pond shore. In many places following the shoreline is difficult, perilous, or outright banned.)

While there in early September, I met one of my favorite damselflies, a Violet Dancer. As frequently happens in the animal world, we know this is a male because only the males have the shockingly bright purple coloring. This little fella took a good picture staring up at me.

September 1, 2022 at Duke Island Park
Photo 238904748, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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