CALICO PENNANT Celithemis elisa

DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES OF WEST VIRGINIA SPECIES PAGE

One of the most attractive of our dragonflies, the Calico Pennant has patterned wings, bright stigmas, and colorful markings along the abdomen. Calico Pennants all begin their adult life with yellow abdominal markings and yellow stigmas. As males mature, the yellow gives way to red.

No other dragonfly in our state has this combination of markings. For the mature male, these include red heart-shaped markings along the top of the abdomen, and red stigmas. Coloration on the sides of the thorax is reddish, and the face is red as well. Wings include several brown spots (see photos), though note that an occasional individual is missing some of the spots.

Females and immature males have yellow spots on the abdomen, not quite as heart-shaped as on the mature males. The spot patterns on the wing are essentially the same as with mature males, but the stigmas are yellow instead of red.

These dragonflies are reasonably common, and sometimes one encounters a pond where a hundred or more Calico Pennants are flying. This species lives at a variety of habitats: alongside lakes, near coal mine settlement ponds and bogs, and beside slow-moving streams.

Male Calico Pennant. Note the bristly dorsal surface of the thorax. The sides of the thorax are reddish with some darker color mixed in.

The face of the mature male Calico Pennant is bright red.

This male Calico Pennant is rotating his head so he can clean his eyes, affording a nice view of the forehead and face.

Coloration of the females and immature males includes yellow accent colors intead of red. If the light hits the wings at just the right angle, there is a beautiful golden luster to the wings.

This view shows the face and the sides of the thorax of a female Calico Pennant.

All images on this page are © Stephen Cresswell.

This site is sponsored by Stephen Cresswell Photography.