Comments on: Can you identify this insect? https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/ Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:16:39 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.6 By: Aaron Brees https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509455 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:16:39 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509455 Did I really say that it was S. obtrusum??? Christoph’s suggestion of Sympetrum vicinum is certainly correct. Terrifying that anyone would call me an “authority” on these things!

]]> By: rob https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509454 Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:33:07 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509454 that insect is Charlie. he owes me money.

]]> By: Christoph Zurnieden https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509453 Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:06:09 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509453 Aaron Brees is an authority here, so S. obtrusum it will be.

S. obtrusum has a distinct white “face”, which means I asked many questions but not the right one, as it seems 🙂

Oh, and dragonflies.org is off-line? Sad, it was a good source. But at least it has been archived.

]]> By: Chris Winter https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509452 Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:31:10 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509452 Christoph Zurnieden wrote: “As far as I remember http://www.dragonflies.org/ has a kind of checklist but that site seems to be off (got only time-outs for the last half hour).”

The Wayback Machine has its last snapshot on 30 June. Prior to that it appeared at least once a month throughout this year.

]]> By: Chris Winter https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509451 Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:21:58 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509451 Damselfly.

What, you wanted something more specific?

]]> By: Sandra https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509450 Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:42:17 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509450 It’s a red-tailed dragonfly ! Lots of pictures and information when you put it into Google. I make Insect themed jewelry and have been looking at Dragonflies a lot in order to create them in Silver. Hope this is helpful.

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509449 Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:32:10 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509449 Christoph, good questoins… Aaron Brees is saying it’s Sympetrum obtrusum

]]> By: Christoph Zurnieden https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509448 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:54:29 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509448 Ok, October fits, but northern Minnessota? That´s would be very far from home! Normal geographical range is in the most southern states of the USA. Some of these states seem to have a severe drought and this aridity may have caused such an unusual far north sighting but I think B. furcata is out.
That far north in October a Sympetrum sp. (vicinium? Does it have a small triangular kind of thorn at the bottom of the tail and yellowish legs? If it has such things and has a reddish abdomen, too, it is a female of that species. If the form of the hamule fits) is more likely.

You may try bugguide.net which has a very large collection of geographically annotated and correctly identified (see comments to the respective pictures) images. I used it to crosscheck my guesses but it is hard to search there without any first guess. You may take a look at http://bugguide.net/node/view/191#id for how hard it is to identify Anisoptera. I was probably a bit too bold to try my new fresh new and obscenely over-priced teeth at it 🙂

As far as I remember http://www.dragonflies.org/ has a kind of checklist but that site seems to be off (got only time-outs for the last half hour).

]]> By: Den!s https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509447 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:31:24 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509447 red darter

]]> By: CyberLizard https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509446 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:50:33 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/11/07/can-you-identify-this-insect/#comment-509446 It’s definitely a dragonfly. Damselflies hold their wings vertical when at rest, dragonflies spread them out. No idea of the exact species, though.

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