Odonates from Yucatan and Cozumel, Mexico November 2013 |
From November 16 - 24, 2013, Sheridan Coffey, Dan Peak and I visited the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, birding at Cozumel, Felipe Carillo Puerto, Calakmul, Chichen Itza, Rio Lagartos, and Coba. Here are some odonates I managed to photograph in-between birds!:
I believe these all to be Coryphaeschna diapyra (except for the first one):
01) Flying over a forest clearing near the main temple at Calakmul; this one does not look red enough for diapyra, yet the abdomen looks too plain for viriditas... maybe a teneral adnexa (but are the cerci long enough)?
The next three individuals were flying over a forest clearing at one of the temples at Coba; the forest was fairly tall, and the darners were mostly feeding just below treetop height, with occasional sallies higher or brief drops to mid-canopy height:_
2)
This seems to be a classic female diapyra - the eyes have a tinge of blue on the sides and the face only a wash of red ventrally, so I feel this is a youngish - but not teneral - individual - ? NOTE the lack of any dark markings on the thorax except for a small brown patch near the top of the posterior suture line:
3) Hard to be sure, but I think this is a male; the eyes look very green, even at the rear, as is the labrum, so this is a young individual - possibly a teneral? NOTE the lack of any dark markings on the thorax except for a small brown patch near the top of the posterior suture line:
4) A female with the cerci broken off. The green eyes and green on the labrum again suggest to me that this is a fairly young individual. NOTE the lack of any dark markings on the thorax except for a small brown patch near the top of the posterior suture line:
The remaining darners were all flying around an empty section of the parking lot for the Marriott Courtyard Hotel close to Cancun Airport - this open space was bordered by medium-height scrub-forest, and there were more than 25 individuals in view at any one time, for at least 30 minutes; most were flying feeding bouts at 8 - 20 feet, with occasional sallies higher.
5) A young male, but with a tinge of pale blue in the upper eyes and a tinge of red on the face, so probably not a teneral - ? NOTE the lack of any dark markings on the thorax:
6) another male that is similar in age to #5) above, I feel. NOTE the lack of any dark markings on the thorax except for a small brown patch near the top of the posterior suture line; the dark vertical line below the front edge of the wing does not align with the sutures and is a shadow, I believe:
7) Yet another young (but not really teneral) male - most of the individuals in the feeding "swarm" were like this. NOTE the lack of any dark markings on the thorax:
8) - and again a young male. NOTE the lack of any dark markings on the thorax except for a small brown patch near the top of the posterior suture line:
9) Ditto: NOTE the lack of any dark markings on the thorax except for a small brown patch near the top of the posterior suture line:
10) I think this is a male, and the fairly red face suggests it is an immature and not a teneral - ? NOTE the lack of any dark markings on the thorax:
11) A female; the blue in the eyes and reddish wash in parts of the face once more suggests to me that this is an immature individual but not a teneral. NOTE the lack of any dark markings on the thorax:
