Orthemis
discolor - Carmine Skimmer
(previously known as Orange-bellied Skimmer):
Update May 19, 2007: Added pics from yesterday of a male from San Jacinto county - a significant range extension - at the bottom
Update June 07 2005: Added
pics from yesterday showing a female throwing an egg-droplet -
at the bottom
Update Aug 20, 2004: Added
close-up pics of a juvenile male from Medina County, to the bottom
of the page
Update Aug 18, 2004: Added
pics of a female from Gonzales County, to the bottom of the page.
At the Halff
Brothers Ranch, close to the Frio River c.5 miles WNW of Pearsall,
Frio County, Texas on July 21 2004:
This juvenile male was at the Santa Ana NWR Butterfly Garden on
Aug 7, 2004:
This mature male was at the Santa Ana NWR HQ ornamental pond on
Aug 7, 2004:
here it is on the right stem, with a male Roseate
Skimmer Orthemis ferruginea and Pin-tailed
Pondhawk Erythemis plebja on the left stem.
This discolor and the next individual below were both seen
perching within inches of male ferruginea, and in such
comparisons the smaller size of the discolor was readily
apparent:
This mature male was at the Santa Ana NWR HQ large pond (at the
end of the HQ Pond Trail) on Aug 8, 2004:
Update Aug 18, 2004: pics
of a female from Independence Park, Gonzales County, August 16,
2004; this individual was caught and examined in the hand, then
released - the "belly" was gingery-orange without the
dark lateral marks inward of the pale sutures that is found on ferruginea:
Update Aug 20, 2004: A juvenile
male from near the Medina River at Rio Medina, Medina County on
August 19 2004; two females were also seen at this location:
Until recently the common name was Orange-bellied Skimmer,
and below you can see the orange "belly" (the ventral
portion of the thorax rear of the leg attachments); on O. ferruginea
this area is creamy or off-white. John Abbott has noted that one
specific reliable difference is that on ferruginea there
is a dark, blackish smudge on the sides of the belly just inside
the pale sutures (the area bounded by the the tips of the two
lines labelled "A" in the pic below) - on discolor
there is no darkening on the belly:
Update June 07 2005: I got
some lucky shots of this female showing the detail of its egg-laying
process, from The
Halff Brothers Ranch in Frio County:-
Here she's getting prepared:
This shot shows how deeply she plunges her abdomen into the water:
And here you can see her having just propelled a water droplet
containing eggs (see white line) towards the bank:
- an enlargement showing the droplet and her abdomen - still dripping
eggs, I think:
From Big Creek Scenic Area, San Jacinto county, on May 18, 2007:
