HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Here's hoping you all have a great turkey day, and give thanks for the family, friends, and life that we have all been given. and if you ever feel there is nothing to be thankful for, just take a deep breath and think again, there is always something no matter how small! This is a common skimmer (Libellula luctosa) dragonfly. Skimmers are the most common and colorful of the dragonfly family. They have two pairs of large, usually patterned, gossamer wings. The hind pair of wings is slightly larger than the forewings. The wings are held flat and extend outward from the body when at rest. The abdomen is long and variously colored. Commons skimmers are the most common and most colorful of the dragonflies. Male and female adults are different in appearance (dimorphic). They also change color with age. They have large compound eyes and short antennae and are equipped with chewing mouth parts. They vary in length from 1 inch to over 3 inches. Their wing span can reach about 4 inches. They undergo simple metamorphosis (egg, nymph, adult). Immature stages are aquatic and do not resemble adults. Adults emerge in the spring, summer or fall and live for a few weeks to a few months. Adults mate in flight, the male clasping the female behind the head. After fertilization, the female deposits her eggs in emergent plants, floating vegetation or directly into the water. Nymphs develop in the water and take months or even years to develop to maturity. Once mature they climb from the water onto plants or rocks where they molt into adults. Most species of dragonflies have one generation per year. Nymphs can be found in vegetation and hiding around underwater structures. Adults feed on insects such as mosquitoes, midges, flies and winged ants. Skimmers fly mostly during the day. They are called skimmers because they tend to fly low over the water. They often follow the same path and return to a familiar perch. Skimmers are beneficial insects, adults feed on mosquitoes, flies and other flying insects. Nymphs feed on aquatic insects, even small fish.

Save the Tiger, Save the World!

As I was creating a holiday card for family and friends this morning, it struck me how easy it would be for me to post it here. Especially since it has an underlying message of conservation that is near and dear to my heart as a wildlife biologist! This is a glimpse at a brief moment of intimacy between a mother Sumatran tiger and her cub, a scene which has played out thousands of times in the wild, but one which is now more commonly found in captivity than in the wild. This particular mother-cub pair are living at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. I find it a sad badge of conservation that it is estimated that there are 4 times as many tigers in captivity as in the wilds of Asia and Russia. Save the tiger, save the world.

Simple pleasures

Sometimes when you least expect it, like when you are standing on a wooden bridge that crosses a pristine creek in Baxter State Park, Maine, after a wonderful day watching and photographing moose, a simple yet purely joyous scene presents itself and begs to be photographed. This is such a photo.