common Baskettail
Common Baskettail (confirmed by appendages). This individual was photographed at Darby Creek near Columbus, but all of the other photos below were taken locally. Common Baskettails fly from late April through June.
This is another Common Baskettail that I confirmed from the appendages. The eyes are gray or brown in young individuals like this one. The eyes can turn brilliant green in mature individuals.
Another teneral baskettail, photographed at Spring Lakes Park in Bellbrook. The exuvia is visible to the left of this dragonfly's head. I watched this female baskettail for about half an hour until she opened her wings (below).
This is probably a female Common Baskettail, but this species is very difficult to distinguish from the Slender Baskettail, especially with females.
This is the exuvia (discarded shell) of a baskettail dragonfly. I found it exactly as seen in the picture, sitting atop a daisy right by the water's edge. The baskettail nymph had crawled up the daisy's stem and emerged on the flower. Photographed at Germantown MetroPark, May 29, 2016.
I love the moment when a teneral dragonfly's wings snap open for the first time. The freshly emerged wings are filmy and iridescent. Soon, this dragonfly will take her first flight.
Close-up view of the cerci on a Common Baskettail. Examining the appendages is the best way to distinguish Common from Slender Baskettails. (But they rarely sit still for these photos!)
A teneral baskettail, with shiny wings, clinging to its exuvia at Cox Arboretum. The exuvia is the nymph's exoskeleton (discarded once the adult dragonfly emerges).
