Eastern Pondhawk (male)

Class: Hexapoda (animals with six legs - includes all insects)
Order: Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)
    odon = tooth (Greek)
Suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies)
Family: Libellulidae (common skimmers)
Species: Erythemis simplicicollis (male)
Common Name: Eastern Pondhawk
Date: 2003 August 12
Place: Carlsbad Caverns National Park
    Rattlesnake Springs

The picture above shows the mature male. While this picture was taken at Rattlesnake Springs, I did find a couple of Eastern Pondhawks around the edges of Manzanita Spring in early August 2003. Unfortunately I was unable to get any pictures. There is a Western Pondhawk, Erythemis collocata, too but only the Eastern Pondhawk has been found in the Park so far.

Mature males of the Eastern Pondhawk are similar in appearance to those of the Blue Dasher. Pondhawk males often can be found resting on the ground rather than on vegetation, whereas Blue Dashers are normally found on vegetation. In general, when Pondhawks occur together with the Blue Dashers as they do here, the Blue Dashers are more abundant. In the southwest, when people refer to a "little blue dragonfly", they are usually referring to the Blue Dasher.

Pondhawks are known to take damselflies or even dragonflies as prey if the occasion permits.

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Note: This is a personal web site and is not affiliated with the National Park Service or Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Contact information for the author, Ron Lyons, is accessible through the Index Page referenced below. Thank you.