Category: Macro

My telephoto wasn’t quite up to the task of capturing this utterly weird little guy full frame and clearly, but he is so amazingly unusual that I had to show him to you. There are a lot of these critters flitting and darting around the turtle/koi pond in the botanical gardens across the street, but they dart so quickly that I hadn’t previously been able to capture anything but a blur. Finally one alighted on a plant and stayed there long enough for me to manage a cropped, blurry photo.

Look at his crazy short front legs and long hind legs holding on to the stem of the plant. And his white eyes!! Those are what make him look like he came out of a science fiction movie.

I present to you…….. The Flame Skimmer, AKA The Firecracker Skimmer, technically known as a Libellula Saturata, a subspecies of dragonfly.

This is a male Flame Skimmer. You can tell because he is a much more intense orange than his female counterpart would be. He is appropriately called a dragonfly. For extra points, what would the female be called?

She would be a   _ _ _ _ _ _fly.  (6 missing letters).    No fair looking it up. Just guess.

Need a clue? Think of fairy tales.

Send your answer via the comment section below.

Happy puzzling!