"Halloween Pennant Dragonfly" (Celithemis Eponina)

              If you hate mosquitos, you might like this bug: the Halloween pennant dragonfly, Celithemis eponina. It eats mosquitos for dinner. It eats them for lunch. It eats them for breakfast. Yum! Even as larvae, it has a taste for mosquito.

And more bad news for the mosquito populaton: by our observations, Halloween pennants are among the most abundant, if not the most abundant dragonfly Florida. The Halloween pennant also has an extremely wide range, found as far west as New Mexico and Colorado, east to the Atlantic seaboard, including Florida, and north into Ontario. They're also found in Cuba and the Bahamas. In warmer places, like Florida, Halloween pennants are active year-round; up north, they're on the fly roughly June into September. 

Halloween pennants get their common name from the colors they sport and their habit of perching atop vegetation looking like a flag. 

They're found near ponds and marshes, which is not surprising since they spend the first part of their lives entirely in water. But they can be found at some distance from water as well. As nymphs, they feast on mosquito larvae as well as the young of other insect species, including other dragonflies, though not of their own kind. Also on their menu: snails, shrimp and crayfish. Larger nymphs may even eat fish and tadpoles. They propel themselves through the water by shooting air out their anus. Yes, their butt hole! When they are mature, they will molt one final time and emerge out of the water as adults and take off into the air.

Hawlloween pennant dragonflies are strong flyers and will brave winds and rains that force other species to take shelter. They will perch atop plants with their bodies out, looking like a flag starched in the wind and waiting for a tasty meal to come by. Besides mosquitoes, they'll feast on other flying insects, including other dragonflies. 

I found this at Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area Prairie Division in Osceola County, Florida,

Taken on: July 16, 2020

Tags:

Dragonfly

Halloween

Hallowen Pennant Dragonfly

insect

bug

wildlife

nature

outside

outdoor

image

photograph

Osceola County

Florida

Florida Wildlife

Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area

ghelm4747

Gary Helm

wings

perched

twig

Macro

Canon Camera

SX60HS

PowerShot

United States

USA

abundant

water

ponds

marshes

Joe Oversteet Road « less

Sets appears in: • Joe Overstreet- Three Lakes • Florida Wildlife more » • Dragonflies « less

Groups appears in: • Wildlife Photography • Wild Florida more » • Central Florida • Wild Wildlife • Florida Wild Life • - I LOVE NATURE - • Flickr Nature • Nature Photography • Florida, USA • Central Florida Flickrs • Awesome Nature • Deep South Nature Pictures - SC, GA, AL, FL, MS, LA • .Southern Photographers - Southern Images • *Animal Photography* • Field Guide to Florida • Wild About Wildlife • North American Nature & Wildlife Photography • NATURE'S BEST • Nature's Pot-of-Gold • Wildlife,The best of! • National Geographic | World Wide • CANON-NO LIMIT • National Wildlife Magazine Photo Group • FLORIDA'S FAUNA & FLORA • Nature of the Florida Birding Trail • *Specialist Nature & Wildlife Photographers* (P1 - A2) • Amazing Wildlife Photos ***No Rules, No Banning, No Sweepers*** • Pop Photo's Photo of the Day • Any kind of wildlife/nature • Best Nature Shot Of The Day • The art and nature of our lives • Canon Superzoom Bridge Camera Group - SX70, SX60, SX50, SX40... • Point and Shoot (Fotocamera Bridge Wooow!) • America do Sul. • Nature and Animals (Wild Only) • Natures' Wonders • US Wildlife • The Ultimate Photographer • The Sunshine State • Florida Nature & Wildlife • Fine Art in a Flash • Specialists' Choice Nature & Wildlife (P1 - A2) • Interesting Nature « less

Stats: 13,397 views / 141 comments

Link to this photo view:
Link to this photo large view: