"Come fly with Me"

The Yellow-Legged Meadowhawk is a small dragonfly whose flight period is one of the last of summer. 

 

male, Yellow-Legged Meadowhawk

Male and Female Yellow-Legged Meadowhawks fly in tandem (called contact guarding) when laying eggs.  The male grasps the female by the head and leads her in the egg laying process.  This guarding prevents the female from being inseminated by another male.

The female of this pair has just dipped her tail into the water.  A water drop still clings to her Ovipositor and the water ripples where she has just touched the surface of the pond.

Deer Run Park, Allen Co. Parks


 

 

It's Halloween!?

 
 





This male HALLOWEEN PENNANT has taken up the OBELISK stance in order to keep it's internal temperature down on this 95 degree day.  It's abdomen is pointing directly at the sun and it's forewings are held higher than the hind wings in this typical perching stance. The Halloween Pennant is the largest Indiana Pennant and gets it's name from the black and orange coloration of it'd wing pattern and body.  Female Halloween Pennants are yellow and it is not uncommon to see males and females in open areas far from water.
Bowman Lake
Fox Island Co. Park                        

On the other hand, this CALICO PENNANT has assumed a "Reverse" OBELISK stance to accomplish the same temperature reduction.  Note that the reed he is perched on also has the remains of the exoskeleton from the last molt, to adulthood, of another dragonfly nymph (left) and the remains of the exoskeleton of a damselfly nymph on the opposite side of the reed.
Bowman Lake
Fox Island Co. Park

Northern Leopard Frog, Trail #8,      
Eagle Marsh, Little River Wetlands Project  9/04/2013

While the dwindling numbers of Northern Leopard Frogs ( Rana pipiens) have put them on the list of "Special Concern" in Indiana, at Eagle Marsh they are alive and thriving.  This may be due, in part, to the ample source of grasshoppers which this frog is using as it's afternoon snack.

Join the Chorus

This little Western Chorus Frog, Pseudacris triceriata, came out to greet the Little River Ramblers at Eagle Marsh this week.  While very vocal during the spring breeding season, March - May, the Chorus Frog is difficult to see by the casual hiker due to it's small size (3/4"-1 1/2") and it's coloration.  This little guy was barely 1" long.
41 deg. 01' 50.34"N     85 deg. 14' 01.28"W