We haven't seen many dragonflies since returning to Washington, but finally a couple days ago we saw our first ones at Cranberry Lake in Anacortes. We saw a couple Four-spotted Skimmers laying eggs along the shore, several California Darners flying over the meadow and landing on the ground, and at least one American Emerald – a dragonfly with wonderful green eyes.
Here are a couple pictures from the lake:
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| Four-spotted Skimmer, male. The dark spots at the nodus (center of leading edge of wing) give this dragonfly its name. The dark spots near the tips of the wings (the stigma) don't count, since all dragonflies have them. Notice that the front two legs are folded up and tucked behind the head, as they are in flight as well. |
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| California Darner, male. These darners like to land on the ground, though most other darners perch about chest high in a bush or tree. Darners are large insects, but the California Darner is the smallest of the darners in our area. |
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| American Emerald, male. Named for its intense emerald green eyes. Notice also the green cast to the thorax. |
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| American Emerald, male. |
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