Update July 02, 2006: I've added a photo of a male from McAllen in August 2005, at the bottom.
Correction: Jim Sinclair and
Tom Langshied obtained the first photos of this taxon in the wild
in 2004; my apologies to them for the earlier false claim - now
removed.
I found this male Cream-tipped Swampdamsel
Leptobasis melinogaster moving quietly in the
dappled shade next to Willow Pond #1 at Santa Ana NWR on June
21, 2005; at the same time I saw a similar damsel with segments
8 - 10 orange rather than creamy - perhaps a female or immature
male? Over the course of the next two hours John Abbott, Aaron
Smith and I found at least six males in this small area. The following
day I found three males in the same area - but no confirmed female.
This was the first shot I took; John Abbott tells me that this
species has been seen alive by only six people - including the
three of us! Click
here to see an in-hand photo of a female:
Here's another male from June 21:
Here's a male from June 22 eating a meal:
Update, July 02 2006:
Here's a photo of a male at McAllen Nature Park, Hidalgo County on August 18, 2005; they were present along the wooded stream at the north end of the park, where there were bankside patches - under the canopy - of the tall, thin grasses that are also at the above site in Santa Ana NWR:
