Dragonfly: Banded Pennant (Celithemis fasciata)

While we were photographing the Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina) at the pond in section #6 in the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge in Jones County, Georgia, we noticed another pennant-like dragonfly with dark brown-black bands on the wings. I’d never seen one of these before.

You can see the general surroundings here. It was sunny with scattered clouds, and breezy with strong gusts of wind from time to time.

*****

This dragonfly – a female - was clasping a dead stem. Several times, she left the twig and flew in a circle before returning to the same twig about less than three feet from me – often hovering for some time before landing. Depending on the light, the bands appeared to be dark brown or almost black. This dragonfly is smaller - about 2/3 the size - than the Halloween Pennant. Like the Halloween Pennant, this pennant also seemed to enjoy the breeze.

We only saw two or three female Banded Pennants. Neither had yellow markings on the abdomen. We didn’t see any males but you can see a photograph of one here.
Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resources:
- Georgia Dragonfly Survey: Banded Pennant (Celithemis fasciata)
- BugGuide: Banded Pennant (Celithemis fasciata) [Male] [Female]
- Duke University: Banded Pennant (Celithemis fasciata)

Related posts:
- First Halloween Pennant of the Season