Eastern Pondhawk

Erythemis simplicicollis — the eastern pondhawk — is one of the most aggressive predatory dragonflies in North America and one of the most striking examples of gender dichromatism in North American Odonata. The species is widespread across all of eastern and central North America from southern Canada south through the eastern US to Mexico, and is one of the most common dragonflies at well-vegetated ponds and lakes. Adults are 4-5 cm body length, 7-8 cm wingspan. The species shows EXTREME GENDER DICHROMATISM: females and immature males are brilliant EMERALD-GREEN with bold black markings on the abdomen; mature males develop a powdery POWDER-BLUE coloration (called pruinescence — a waxy bloom secreted on the body surface) that completely covers the original green coloration, transforming the male's appearance into a chalky-blue dragonfly with white-blue body and dark wing tips. The transformation is gradual over the first 1-2 weeks of male adult life. The female-and-immature-male emerald form looks so different from the mature-male powder-blue form that many casual observers misidentify them as separate species. The species is one of the MOST AGGRESSIVE PREDATORY DRAGONFLIES in North America. Pondhawks are voracious aerial hunters and regularly capture and eat OTHER DRAGONFLIES (sometimes including dragonflies of the same species, including their own mates), large butterflies, large damselflies, and other big-bodied prey that smaller dragonfly species would not attempt. Eastern pondhawks have been documented EATING THEIR OWN MATES immediately after copulation — a behavior more typical of mantises and spiders than of Odonata. The species is one of the most beneficial mosquito predators in North American ponds — adults consume hundreds of mosquitoes per day in continuous patrol flight, and naiads consume mosquito larvae and other aquatic invertebrates over a 1-2 year aquatic development period. The species is widespread, harmless to humans (no sting, no bite), and one of the most-photographed dragonflies in North American macro nature photography.