This week’s odonate of the week is Sympetrum obtrusum, the white-faced meadowhawk.

[EDIT: I’ve been told that I need to include “witty and interesting” comments with each dragon or damsel and that my brilliant photographic skills are not sufficiently entertaining.  Here’s a few facts about the white-faced meadowhawk:

S. obtrusum is commonly found at a range of different habitats from ponds and marshes to slow moving rivers across the northern USA and Ontario, Canada.  Only the male has a white face and that only develops over time.  Until this happens the species is very difficult to distinguish from the ruby- and cherry-faced meadowhawks (S. rubicundulum and S. internum, respectively).  The male here was probably only 1 inch long, like many meadowhawks, making them a similar size to the larger damselflies.  They perch, as this guy is doing, on low-lying vegetation and sally out to hunt and mate.]