At the end of the afternoon, I found myself at Vilas Park and went down to the edge of Lake Wingra to watch summer. The sun was blinding, but I tried to look out with bare eyes at dragonflies making their rounds over the lily pads, and watch for birds calling from the cattails. A dragonfly landed on this piece of sedge for just a second before darting off. I waited. After some (many) minutes of research, I can confidently say this is a male blue dasher dragonfly. AKA
Pachydiplax longipennis, this skimmer family dragonfly has touching green eyes, is only 2 inches long, and has a powder blue tail with black tip at the very end. While the more common darner family almost never seem to stop and rest, it is common for skimmer dragonflies to perch frequently. However, the blue dasher does mate in midair.
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