One of the easier to identify
meadowharks that are found in this area is the saffron winged
meadowhawk. The easiest way to ID a saffron-winged
meadowhawk is to observe the leading edge of each wing. If the
edge is a gold, or saffron color then it is a saffron-winged
meadowhawk. The males are usually red with the gold edged wings and red wing
veins. The females, like the one pictured above, are yellow in color with yellow or orange wing
veins. Both male and females have black triangles running up the bottoms of their abdomen and black top spots on sections eight and nine. I photographed this dragon at Park Point in Duluth back on September 20
th.
This is a female saffron-winged meadowhawk. The identifying characteristic is the gold or saffron color of the veins on the leading edge of each wing. If you look carefully, especially on the photo below, you can see that some of the other wing veins are also gold colored.
Other things to look for when identifying saffron-winged dragons are a solid colored stigma and yellow and black striped legs. Females and immature males are a golden color, like those pictured here, while mature males are primarily red, including their stigma. I photographed this dragon near the Old Cedar Ave Bridge in the Minnesota Valley NWR in October.
