BAND-WINGED and BLUE-FACED MEADOWHAWKS
Band-winged Meadowhawk. This is the only meadowhawk in our area with large brown patches on its wings.
Blue-faced Meadowhawk. This is the easiest meadowhawk to identify. I call these dragonflies "smurfs" because of their blue faces.
Band-winged Meadowhawks have a long flight period. I have found tenerals as early as June 16th and mature individuals as late as October 25th.
This is a female Band-winged Meadowhawk. Females and immature males are yellow and have pale brown patches on their wings. Older females turn red like the males.
Blue-faced Meadowhawks are common in some years but harder to find in others. Their larvae prefer shallow wetlands that dry up in late summer and autumn. This protects them from fish, but it leaves them vulnerable in years following a bad drought.
This is a female Blue-faced Meadowhawk, photographed at Caesar Creek Wildlife Area. Females are yellow and pale blue.
There is a healthy population of Band-winged Meadowhawks in the Beaver Creek Wetlands parks, including Siebenthaler Fen, Creekside Reserve, Beavercreek Wildlife Area, and Koogler Reserve.
Cox Arboretum has an excellent population of Blue-faced Meadowhawks. I also find them at many other locations, such as Grant Park, Caesar Creek Wildlife Area, Pearl's Fen, Germantown MetroPark, Koogler Reserve, Oakes Quarry, Bill Yeck Park, Siebenthaler Fen, Beavercreek Wildife Area, and Garland Reserve in Fairborn.
This is a young, recently-emerged Band-winged Meadowhawk. It was photographed June 24, 2017, in Beavercreek.
This Band-winged Meadowhawk was hanging out on a clover blossom.
Blue-faced Meadowhawks are most common from August through October, but I have found tenerals as early as June 23rd. My personal late date is October 24th.