The picture above shows the mature male. The body coloration of the immature male is like that of the female show below.
Males often can be found perched on the vegetation surrounding ponds. In the southwest, when people refer to the "little blue dragonfly" they saw this is often the one they mean. (This species is not limited to the southwest but is widely distributed across the country.) Mature males of the Eastern and Western Pondhawks, Erythemis simplicicollis and Erythemis collocata respectively, are a similar pale blue. These slightly larger males often can be found resting on the ground. In general, when Pondhawks occur together with the Blue Dashers as they do here, the Blue Dashers are more abundant.
Blue Dasher (female)
2003 August 07 at Manzanita Spring
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