A flame skimmer dragonfly (libellula saturata) seen at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas this morning. This was our monthly 4-H Photography Group meeting so we spent it taking pictures of the better-than-usual collection of wildlife we found at the center. Snakes (all of the harmless variety) seemed a lot more common than usual. I was loaded for butterflies and dragonflies (a long lens with extension tubes) but only saw a couple of species of butterfly and one type of dragonfly. Thankfully, this one sat on its roost long enough that I got a few decent shots before it headed off to patrol the pond again.
For the technically inclined...
I just saw one on a bouganvilla in a planter on my patio near Sugar Land. It was so vivid orange, with orange wings and red eyes, but my phone only took a blurry photo where the insect looked far more yellow than it was.