{"id":131546,"date":"2024-07-30T03:48:11","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T08:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=131546"},"modified":"2025-08-10T06:50:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T11:50:21","slug":"lifer-flag-tailed-spinyleg-dragonfly-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/07\/30\/lifer-flag-tailed-spinyleg-dragonfly-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Lifer Flag-tailed Spinyleg Dragonfly Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

While I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, I took lifer Flag-tailed Spinyleg dragonfly images while walking a road with my friend Steve Creek<\/span><\/a>. It felt great to walk, stretch my legs, and see insects close up and personal.<\/p>\n

\"Flag-tailedFlag-tailed Spinyleg dragonfly on a gravel path \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/2500, ISO 800, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

It was hot and humid, with a strong wind making it challenging to photograph dragonflies perched higher up.<\/p>\n

On the ground the dragonflies were much easier to photograph because they weren’t bouncing around in the wind.<\/p>\n

I knew that this dragonfly was a clubtailed species, but I didn’t know which one. I used iNaturalist<\/span><\/a> to research and found out that it is a Flag-tailed Spinyleg dragonfly.<\/p>\n

I do not know whether this dragonfly is female or male, so I won’t use “she” or “he” to describe this winged creature.<\/p>\n

\"Flag-tailedFlag-tailed Spinyleg dragonfly at Sequoyah NWR \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/3200, ISO 800, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

There are plenty of other descriptive adjectives I can use. Colorful, gorgeous, jewel-like, fascinating, and amazing are just a few.<\/p>\n

What I learned from my research is that there isn\u2019t a great deal of information available about Flag-tailed Spinyleg dragonflies, certainly not as much as for more well-studied species of odonata.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been spotting quite a few lifer dragonflies recently, and I have to admit, it makes me happy. I\u2019ve always loved dragonflies and damselflies. Other things with wings, what\u2019s not to love about that?<\/p>\n

Besides, these creatures eat other annoying and biting insects. That makes them heroines and heroes in my opinion. I am super grateful for the mosquitoes that don’t bite me because the dragonflies have gobbled them up!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my insect and spider photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, I took lifer Flag-tailed Spinyleg dragonfly images while walking a road with my friend Steve Creek.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":131513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15461,13973,13974],"tags":[4004,13985,13984,15472,15473,5366,2204,15471,15469,15470,6790,1799,15474,2315],"class_list":["post-131546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flag-tailed-spinyleg-dragonflies","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-adult","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forests","tag-bottomlands","tag-clubtail","tag-clubtails","tag-dragonflies","tag-dragonfly","tag-dromogomphus-spoliatus","tag-flag-tailed-spinyleg","tag-flag-tailed-spinyleg-dragonfly","tag-gravel","tag-insects","tag-path","tag-summer-3"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Flag-tailed-Spinyleg-dragonfly-mia-mcpherson-7408.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ydI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":114483,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/07\/18\/american-lotus-and-dragonflies\/","url_meta":{"origin":131546,"position":0},"title":"American Lotus And Dragonflies","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Today's post is about American Lotus, dragonflies, and the rich habitat of Reeve's Slough at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "American Lotus"","block_context":{"text":"American Lotus","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/american-lotus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Eastern Pondhawk on a lotus leaf, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/sequoyah-nwr-eastern-pondhawk-dragonfly-male-mia-mcpherson-9584.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/sequoyah-nwr-eastern-pondhawk-dragonfly-male-mia-mcpherson-9584.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/sequoyah-nwr-eastern-pondhawk-dragonfly-male-mia-mcpherson-9584.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/sequoyah-nwr-eastern-pondhawk-dragonfly-male-mia-mcpherson-9584.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":148200,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/06\/12\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-male-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":131546,"position":1},"title":"Blue Dasher Dragonfly Male At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago I photographed this adult Blue Dasher dragonfly near the gravel road at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. I'm happy to see the dragonflies back.","rel":"","context":"In "Blue Dasher Dragonflies"","block_context":{"text":"Blue Dasher Dragonflies","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/blue-dasher-dragonflies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Blue Dasher dragonfly male at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0044.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0044.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0044.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/common-whitetail-dragonfly-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-2739.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/common-whitetail-dragonfly-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-2739.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/common-whitetail-dragonfly-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-2739.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/common-whitetail-dragonfly-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-2739.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":130326,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/07\/08\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-photo-and-video\/","url_meta":{"origin":131546,"position":3},"title":"Blue Dasher Dragonfly Photo And Video","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm a bird photographer who sometimes can't resist photographing other things with wings which includes this male Blue Dasher dragonfly I saw yesterday morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Blue Dasher Dragonflies"","block_context":{"text":"Blue Dasher Dragonflies","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/blue-dasher-dragonflies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Blue Dasher dragonfly at Sequoyah NWR, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-9895.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-9895.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-9895.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-9895.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":154972,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/09\/09\/female-eastern-pondhawk-dragonfly-on-a-dew-covered-lotus-leaf\/","url_meta":{"origin":131546,"position":4},"title":"Female Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly On A Dew Covered Lotus Leaf","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I was delighted to photograph a female Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly on a dew covered lotus leaf at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Eastern Pondhawks"","block_context":{"text":"Eastern Pondhawks","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/eastern-pondhawks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult female Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly on a dew covered lotus leaf, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/eastern-pondhawk-female-lotus-mia-mcpherson-7352.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/eastern-pondhawk-female-lotus-mia-mcpherson-7352.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/eastern-pondhawk-female-lotus-mia-mcpherson-7352.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/eastern-pondhawk-female-lotus-mia-mcpherson-7352.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":114676,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/07\/25\/young-white-tailed-deer-buck-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":131546,"position":5},"title":"Young White-tailed Deer Buck At Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"On my first trip to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge I was delighted to take a series of photos of a White-tailed Deer buck in velvet crossing a gravel road.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young White-tailed Deer buck in Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, 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