Male Common Whitetails

I met a lot of Common Whitetail dragonflies on this day; here are some of the males. I'm not convinced I've got anything new to say about these robust-looking dragonflies with the sometimes blindingly white pruinose abdomens, but they photograph pretty well so here are some more. I guess I'll remind you though that scale matters. While to us they're interesting looking but (essentially [1]) harmless flying insects, if you were small enough they would be terrifying predators.

June 29, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 301249848, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

June 29, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 301250020, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

June 29, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 301250043, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] On a butterfly count 1 of the participants complained about being bitten by a dragonfly. He seemed to resent them after this so I didn't ask if this was a justified biting. My guess is that if you're trying to handle them, they might bite to try and get free, but:

  1. I can't imagine they think of us (or anything mouse-sized and up) as food.
  2. I'm around them fairly often, have never been bitten, and have only had them land on me a handful of times.

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