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My Old Flame: Looking for Love or a Fast-Food Snack or a Little Sun

Looking for love...or a fast-food snack...or a little sun...

A male flameskimmer dragonfly, Libellula saturata, is a sight to see. The males are fire-engine red or firecracker red, and when they perch on a bamboo stake in your pollinator garden, establishing temporary residency, it's absolutely delightful.

The welcome mat? It's three-fold: a fish pond, nectar sources to attract pollinators, and a series of bamboo stakes just for dragonflies.

This one stayed on his perch for an hour on May 11 in our Vacaville garden, and then moved around a bit to the other stakes, perhaps to escape the photographer, perhaps to grab an insect for a quick snack. Instead of musical chairs, it's musical stakes--magical musical stakes.

“Magic is seeing wonder in nature's every little thing, seeing how wonderful the fireflies are and how magical are the dragonflies.”-- Ama H. Vanniarachchy 

A male flameskimmer dragonfly, Libellula saturata, perches on a bamboo stake in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male flameskimmer dragonfly, Libellula saturata, perches on a bamboo stake in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The flameskimmer's wings shimmer in the morning light. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The flameskimmer's wings shimmer in the morning light. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)