We seem to have more dragonflies flying around this month than butterflies. Here you see what I believe is a male Seaside Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax berenice), the only species of dragonfly in the Western Hemisphere capable of propagating in salt water:
Below, you’ll see one of the many species of small, red Meadowhawk Dragonflies that apparently were put on earth to drive me crazy trying to identify them:
I think it is a Cherry-Faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum internum), based on the black legs, colorless wings, and darker head.
There are several theories about how dragonflies got their names. A leading one is that the English name derives from the Romanian word for dragonfly, which translates to Devil’s Horse or Devil’s Fly. (“Drac” reportedly means “devil” in Romanian). The Romanian designation, in turn, apparently was inspired by the story of the devil changing St. George’s horse into a giant flying insect. (A horse-size insect is easy to identify, I bet.)
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on August 24 and 27, 2023.)