Species Name: Celithemis eponina - Halloween Pennant Dragonfly .

Size: length: 30-42 mm; abdomen: 20-30 mm; hindwing: 27-35 mm.

Identification: This is the largest, most widely distributed, and perhaps most colorful small pennant species in the region. Its common name is descriptive because of its distinctive orange and brown or black wings. The face is yellowish or olivaceous, becoming darker with age and red in males. The thorax is yellowish-green with a dark middorsal stripe and narrow lateral stripes on the sutures. The midlateral stripe is usually not continuous after the spiracle. This is the only species with completely yellowish-orange wings marked with broad dark brown or black stripes and a red pterostigma. The abdomen is slender with pale yellow dorsal spots on segments 3-7 that become red with age.

Activity: This species may be locally abundant. It forages from atop tall grasses, weeds and stems in open fields some distance from the water. It perches uniquely, with the fore- and hindwings in different planes. The forewings are held somewhat vertically and the hindwings horizontally. Most activity takes place in the early to midmorning hours. Females lay eggs similarly to other species, accompanied by males. Its fluttering flight has been compared to that of a butterfly.

Similar Species: This is a very recognizable species. Banded Pennant (C. fasciata) has clear wings with black bands and Calico Pennant (C. elisa) is smaller with patterning on otherwise clear wings.

Flight: In Texas, late April to mid October.

Distribution: Widespread throughout eastern U.S. and Canada - Abundant in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and New Mexico

Habitat: Lakes, ponds, borrow pits and marshes with emergent vegetation.

Tips on photographing this species: Halloween Pennants are not particularly difficult to approach if you move slowly. They are fairly small as dragonflies go, so you have to work in close. They are tolerant on most occasions. They tend to perch on fragile perches that blow around on windy days. My favorite rig for small dragonflies is the ID Mark II N coupled with a 180mm macro with 1.4X TC and 25mm extension tube.

Reference: John C. Abbott, Dragonflies and Damselflies of North America

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