what's Latin for tragedy...

Just kidding, I don't care.  Natural selection takes care of a lot of our dragonfly friends, as seen in the following photographs.  Sometimes I wish I would've been disposed of earlier by nature, however, I was born in the 20th century with a lion roaring in the background.  Anyway, someone's loss is our benefit, and these pictures will help us bridge the gap between the very brief period in which a dragonfly lives underwater and in which it takes to the air.

Uh oh...complications emerging!!

Epitheca princeps

The prince baskettail (Epitheca princeps) has always been a very enchanting dragonfly to me.  When I first began collecting, this species seemed so majestic and elusive.  Massive green eyes (when living) and an abdomen that curls upward and outward like the letter "j" when this dragonfly is hanging from a tree branch, I hardly ever saw them anywhere within reach; they were always jetting high overhead and pinching insects from the air or patrolling territories of water, towering above of the other species.

A dorsal scan of an Epitheca princeps from the CDM.

new season ahead

Here is a photo from last year, a reminder of what is coming in 2011.  Species of the genus Epitheca are usually the first dragonflies to start showing up around here.  They generally begin emerging in mid-March and persist maybe through August.

This fine specimen, an unidentified baskettail (Epitheca sp.), was placed in a vial of acetone moments after capture.  Usually when we immediately immerse a specimen in the field it is so the specimen won't damage itself, or to preserve its ephemeral developmental state.

the Colleyville Dragonfly Museum blog begins

Hello, and welcome to our blog.

My name is Brian and I am the curator and media specialist for the Colleyville Dragonfly Museum.  The Colleyville Dragonfly Museum, hereafter referred to as CDM, is an non-profit housing assistance program for dragonflies located in Tarrant County.  We relocate the insects to our facility (my parents' house) and display them for whoever happens to wander in the house.

This blog will share with you all of our recent acquisitions, events, news and any other interesting information.

So, welcome aboard...we're in for the ride of your stupid fucking life.