Obelisking

Another visit to the Lower Huron Metropark today did not have any new species of dragonflies for me, but I found a couple of other things of note.  

Obelisking male Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)

From Field and Roadsides by Tom Whelen:  Field guides call this upward pointing behavior obelisking, I suppose, because a tail pointing up looks like an [architectual-style] Egyptian obelisk.  [For example, the Washington Monument is an obelisk.] The belief is that dragonflies do this to reduce the exposure of their abdomen to the sun. Dragonflies breathe through their abdomen. If you get a close look at a dragonfly through binoculars or a camera viewfinder you see the abdomen pulsing as they breathe.

A visit to Crosswinds Marsh earlier in the week gave me a chance for better photos of Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta).

Above and three below:  The mating process for a pair of bluets.  I wish the photos were better.

Face of male Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa)

Immature male Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis)

Above:  Living up to his pondhawk name:  Lunching on a bluet.

As I am writing this it is raining.  Hopefully, it will continue to rain throughout the night and our long drought will be over.