Carolina and red Saddlebags
Carolina Saddlebags. This species is fairly common in our area. I see Carolina Saddlebags from April through early September. The earliest ones in April are migrants.
Another Carolina Saddlebags. This species is very similar to the Red Saddlebags, but Carolinas are the more common of the two in our area. Carolina Saddlebags have purple faces and smaller clear "windows" in the saddle next to the body. A Red Saddlebags would have a red or brown face and large, rounded clear windows in the saddle. Also, a Red Saddlebags would have black only on the top of Segments 8 & 9 (near the tip of the abdomen). A Carolina Saddlebags usually has black on the sides of these segments as well.
This teneral Carolina Saddlebags was lurking in the vegetation on the Cox Arboretum prairie. I often see teneral Carolinas emerging in August and September, in the same locations where the migratory adults arrived in the spring.
This is a Red Saddlebags, photographed from about 20 feet below the dragonfly. This Red Saddlebags was perched atop a dead tree at Siebenthaler Fen. However, despite the poor angle, this photo shows an important distinguishing feature: the large clear window in the saddle.
A Carolina Saddlebags shows off his dark purple face and his balancing skills, deftly perched on a thin stem while his wings flutter in the breeze.
Carolina Saddlebags dragonflies were formerly uncommon in Ohio. This is one of many southern species that has greatly expanded its presence in our state in recent years.
Red Saddlebags, photographed at Oakes Quarry on October 2, 2021. Red Saddlebags are much less common than Carolinas in our area. They tend to show up in late summer and autumn. I have seen them from July through October.
Carolina Saddlebags, with a beautiful blue sky in the background. Notice that this Carolina Saddlebags does not have large, rounded clear windows in the saddle like a Red Saddlebags would.
Carolina Saddlebags in flight. Note the purple face and the black on the sides of S8 and S9. The red saddle does not have a rounded, clear window like a Red Saddlebags would.
This is a Red Saddlebags. Note the large rounded clear window in the wing. This is one of several Red Saddlebags that I photographed at Oakes Quarry in early July 2023.
Red Saddlebags. The red patches on his wings are smaller than on a Carolina Saddlebags, and the anal loop is clear.
Another Red Saddlebags. Notice that the black color on Segments 8 and 9 (at the tip of the abdomen) does not extend down the sides of those segments.
Red Saddlebags perched at Oakes Quarry. Again, note that Segments 8 and 9 are only black on the top, not on the sides. Also, the face is pale brown rather than dark purple.
