Eastern Pondhawks

Here's a male Eastern Pondhawk (top picture) and an egg-laying female Eastern Pondhawk (bottom). I apparently like showing the differences between male and female Eastern Pondhawks; I've done it here and here. While some of this is due to there being quite a few of these dragonflies kicking around in New Jersey, there are other reasons I do this a lot:

  1. Both the males and females are quite colorful, making them more photogenic than some insects.
  2. Both the males and females are fairly distinctive-looking; I know who I'm seeing right away without any meaningful doubts.
  3. There are some dragonflies that rarely stop flying, meaning my only chance at an in-focus picture is if they hover for a while in 1 spot. Other than females laying eggs, that rarely hover long enough for me to get them in focus.
Note that the female actually is laying eggs. She might look like she's "testing the water" before going in for a dip, but she's only interested in dipping the end of her abdomen into the water to lay an egg there. After hatching - if all goes well - they'll spend much of their lives as small predacious aquatic nymphs before leaving the water to breed as adults.

June 29, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 301249800, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

June 29, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 301249942, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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