This is an
Erpetogomphus disignatus, (the Eastern Ringtail), female in an uncut barley field at the Hardware River Wildlife Management Area, Fulvanna County, Virginia, 9-Jun-17.
It was partly cloudy and whenever the sun was hidden the dragonflies would perch in a mostly horizontal posture. There were dozens of dragonflies of several different species hanging out in the field. This was about 1:30 pm and the temperature was in the 90s.
Within seconds of the sun hitting them, they repositioned themselves with their abdomen pointing directly at the sun to limit the surface area exposed to direct sunlight. This behavior is known as obelisking.
This is a male
Erpetogomphus disignatus.
At this time Odonate systematics recognizes around 22
Erpetogomphus species. I say "about" because we are unsure if several closely related species/populations are sub-species or unique species. They are different enough that we take note of it, but we don't know for sure if they are in the same individual clade or sister/parent/offspring clades. Eventually, maybe a grad student will spend a year or two studying them and find out.
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