Widow skimmer

In my fascination with dragonflies, I've certainly come to love them all... but some I love a bit more than others. The Widow Skimmer is one of those heart-stoppers, and even a cursory look at this particularly perfect creature provides a good reason why this species is so captivating. For starters, Libellula luctuosa is simply stunning—a "widow" dressed to leave mourning behind. And then there's the odonate's behavior, in which it just seems fond of posing for pictures. What photographer wouldn't fall in love with such a beautiful and cooperative model? Like most of the other odonate species, the widows were late this year, and this one—actually, a widower; the females lack the white on the wings—is still wearing his recently-emerged-from-the-water teneral garb, particularly on the abdomen, which will turn pruinose gray as the insect gets a bit older. Whatever his clothing, I'm guessing he'll prove very attractive to the widows.