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Common darter
Britain and much of Europe. A mature male has a red or orange abdomen. Look for pale lengthwise stripes on its legs, a useful check when more than one reddish darter flies at the same pond. It often comes back to the same low perch after a short flight.
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Emperor dragonfly
Britain and much of Europe. A large emperor can spend long stretches patrolling above a pond. An adult male has a green thorax and a bright blue abdomen with a dark line along the top. Its abdomen can look slightly bowed downward in flight.
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Libellula depressa
Britain and much of Europe. The broad-bodied chaser has a short, wide abdomen, blue in a mature male and usually yellow-brown in a female. Dark patches sit at the bases of the wings. Look for a regular perch beside sunny ponds, including newly created ones.
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Banded demoiselle
Britain and much of Europe. A male has a dark band across each wing, with clear areas on either side. Watch for the bands opening and closing as he flies low over a vegetated river or stream. Females generally have greenish wings and lack that broad dark band.
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Azure damselfly
Britain and much of Europe. On a settled blue male, look for a small black U just behind the thorax. The mark helps distinguish it from other blue damselflies at still or slow water. Binoculars or a side-by-side photo can make a better check than the overall color.
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Blue-tailed damselfly
Britain and much of Europe. From above, the male’s abdomen looks mostly dark except for a bright blue patch on the eighth segment, just short of the tip. Females vary in color, so the male often makes an easier first identification.
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Scarlet dragonfly
Much of continental Europe, with records in Britain. A mature male wears scarlet across the face, thorax, and abdomen, with a flat, broad abdomen and a small wash of amber near each hindwing base. The female is duller. Watch a resting individual to see how red its body is compared with a common darter.
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Green darner
Much of North America. A common green darner looks big and fast above a pond. The green thorax contrasts with a blue abdomen in mature males, while females are more variable. Look for the dark bull’s-eye just in front of the eyes, visible in this photograph.
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Twelve-spotted skimmer
Much of North America. Each wing bears three dark patches. A mature male adds pale patches between them, making a checkerboard that stands out over open water. The female has the dark spots without the white between them.
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Blue dasher
Much of the United States and southern Canada. A mature male has a powdery blue abdomen and a thorax marked with stripes. It often watches a pond from a small projecting perch. In sun, the abdomen can point steeply upward while the dragonfly stays in place.
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Ebony jewelwing
Eastern North America. A male’s nearly black wings and metallic green body show up well on a shaded stream bank. The female usually has a conspicuous pale spot near the tip of each dusky wing. Its broad wings have a fluttering motion in short flights across the stream.
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Erythemis simplicicollis
Eastern North America. An eastern pondhawk can be vivid green or powdery blue. Females and young males are green, while the mature males turn blue as they age. A green face can help you recognize the male even after the color of the rest of its body has changed.
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Halloween pennant
Eastern and central North America. Orange wings crossed by dark bands give this pennant its Halloween colors. Look for it near the tips of grasses and other tall stems beside still water. The stem can sway quite a bit while the dragonfly stays put.
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Common whitetail
Much of North America. A mature male’s pale, chalk-white abdomen contrasts with a broad dark band across each wing. The female is brown and has a different pattern of dark patches. Both can be seen near ponds and slow water.
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Eastern amberwing
Eastern and central North America. This dragonfly is small enough to miss while watching larger skimmers. A male has amber wings, while a female usually shows dark patches instead. Look low over water or near the tip of a stem at the edge of a warm pond.
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Familiar bluet
Much of North America. A mature male has a mostly blue abdomen with small black marks that taper toward the tip in the middle segments. Other bluets can look very similar. Watch for one on low pond-edge vegetation and check the pattern from above before settling on an identification.
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