| Halloween pennant | |
|---|---|
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| Male | |
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| Female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Infraorder: | Anisoptera |
| Family: | Libellulidae |
| Genus: | Celithemis |
| Species: | C. eponina |
| Binomial name | |
| Celithemis eponina (Drury, 1773) | |
The Halloween pennant (Celithemis eponina) is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is native to eastern North America, as well as the West Indies.
The Halloween pennant's wings are entirely orange-yellow in color with dark brown bands, the Halloween inspiration for its common name. [3] Dragonflies of its genus perch at the tips of plants, waving in the breeze like pennants. [4] The young has yellow markings, including a stripe on its back. The adult male and female may develop pale red markings, especially on the face. This species is about 38 to 42 millimetres long. It is orange. [5] [6] [7]
This species occurs in eastern North America. In the southern part of its range of The Bahamas and Cuba, it is in season all year round. In northern latitudes it can be seen from mid-June to mid-August. [5] [7] It ranges as far north as southern Canada and as far west as the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, in New Mexico and Colorado. It lives in wet habitat types such as ponds, marshes and lakes, where it perches on vegetation. [6] [8]
The female lays eggs in the morning on open water with the male still attached at the head. This method is known as exophytic egg laying. [6] [9] Sexual activity normally occurs between 8:00 and 10:30 am. [7] Males rest on vegetation to await the females' arrival. [5] They usually rest upon the leaves of the American Holly Bush which help to stimulate arousal encouraging the males to develop erections.[ citation needed ] This species is not territorial. [10]
The Halloween pennant enjoys perching on top of taller plants, and if they find the plant adequate, they will most commonly return many times. [11]
The Halloween pennant feeds on other insects. [5] It is able to fly in rain and strong wind. [6] On hot days, it will often shade its thorax using its wings. [7]
A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threatens dragonfly populations around the world. Adult dragonflies are characterised by a pair of large, multifaceted, compound eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches, and an elongated body. Many dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colours produced by structural coloration, making them conspicuous in flight. An adult dragonfly's compound eyes have nearly 24,000 ommatidia each.
Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies but are usually smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along the body when at rest, unlike dragonflies which hold the wings flat and away from the body. Damselflies have existed since the Late Jurassic, and are found on every continent except Antarctica.
The chasers, darters, skimmers and perchers and their relatives form the Libellulidae, the largest dragonfly family in the world. It is sometimes considered to contain the Corduliidae as the subfamily Corduliinae and the Macromiidae as the subfamily Macromiinae. Even if these are excluded, there remains a family of over 1000 species. With nearly worldwide distribution, these are almost certainly the most often seen of all dragonflies.
Hump-winged grigs are insects belonging to the genus Cyphoderris, in the family Prophalangopsidae, and superfamily Grylloidea (crickets). In modern times they are known only in northwestern North America and central Asia, but the fossil record indicates a wider distribution in the past.
Libellula depressa, the broad-bodied chaser or broad-bodied darter, is one of the most common dragonflies in Europe and central Asia. It is very distinctive with a very broad flattened abdomen, four wing patches and, in the male, the abdomen becomes pruinose blue.
The green darner or common green darner, after its resemblance to a darning needle, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. One of the most common and abundant species throughout North America, it also ranges south to Panama. It is well known for its great migration distance from the northern United States south into Texas and Mexico. It also occurs in the Caribbean, Tahiti, and Asia from Japan to mainland China. It is the official insect for the state of Washington in the United States.
The giant swallowtail is the largest butterfly in North America. It is abundant through many parts of eastern North America; populations from western North America and down into Panama are now considered to belong to a different species, Papilio rumiko. Though it is often valued in gardens for its striking appearance, its larval stage can be a serious pest to citrus farms, which has earned its caterpillars the names orange dog or orange puppy. The giant swallowtail caterpillars possess remarkable camouflage from predators by closely resembling bird droppings. They use this, along with their osmeteria, to defend against predators such as wasps, flies, and vertebrates.
Parcoblatta is a genus of 12 species of native North American wood cockroaches. The males often have wings and are drawn to lights, while the females are flightless.
The blue dasher is an insect of the skimmer family. It is the only species in the genus Pachydiplax. It is widely distributed throughout North America and into the Bahamas.
The obelisk posture is a handstand-like position that some dragonflies and damselflies assume to prevent overheating on sunny days. The abdomen is raised until its tip points at the sun, minimizing the surface area exposed to solar radiation. When the sun is close to directly overhead, the vertical alignment of the insect's body suggests an obelisk.
Trithemis annulata, commonly known as the violet dropwing, violet-marked darter, purple-blushed darter, or plum-coloured dropwing, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in most of Africa, the Middle East, and southern Europe. These dragonflies are called dropwings because of their habit of immediately lowering their wings after landing on a perch. Males of this species are violet-red with red veins in the wings, while females are yellow and brown. Both sexes have red eyes.
Sympetrum vicinum, the Yellow-Legged Meadowhawk is one of some fifteen North American species of autumn meadowhawk, which are members of the Odonate family Libellulidae. It grows to 26–35 mm long.
Burnsius communis, the common checkered-skipper, formerly known as Pyrgus communis, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is known as the frequently seen Pyrginae species in the northern United States by collectors and watchers alike.
The eastern amberwing is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is very small, reaching a total length of no more than 25 millimetres (0.98 in). The males have orange or amber wings. Both sexes have a red pterostigma.
Eastern forktail is a member of the damselfly family Coenagrionidae.
Diplacodes bipunctata is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae, known as the wandering percher or red percher dragonfly.
Diplacodes nebulosa is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is a widely distributed species in many Asian countries. and northern Australia.
Macrodiplax cora, the coastal glider, also known as wandering pennant, and Cora’s pennant, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.
Celithemis verna, the double-ringed pennant, is a species of skimmer in the family Libellulidae. It is found in North America.
Lebia pulchella, the beautiful banded lebium, is a species of beetle in the family Carabidae. It is found from southern Canada to southern Texas.
The common name is a good one, for the wings are entirely orange-yellow with the exception of the bands, which are dark brown rather than black.
