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Blue-faced Ringtail
Erpetogomphus eutainia
The Blue-faced Ringtail (Erpetogomphus eutainia) is a little-known dragonfly which has been found in the United States only in south central Texas (although it occurs from Mexico to Costa Rica in Central America). The only documented Texas records, as of December, 2010, are from Bexar, Caldwell, DeWitt, Gonzales, Maverick, and Webb Counties along the Rio Grande, San Marcos, Medina, and Guadalupe Rivers. The species is not found very often and there had apparently been very few reports of it between the 1970s and 2003. During the summer of 2003, I made a concerted effort to locate this species. I spent several weeks in my spare time working public areas along the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers without success. Finally, in late July, I found a female Blue-faced Ringtail in Gonzales, Texas. It is an inconspicuous dragonfly which flies slowly in an almost "damselfly-like" manner. I obtained several shots of this female in July, but wanted to try for better images. On 2 August 2003, John Abbott and I returned to the spot where I had located the female and had great luck in finding a male and a female Blue-faced Ringtail! We got excellent photos of both sexes and even watched the male catch and consume a female Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta). All the initial shots here were near the banks of the Guadalupe River in Independence Park, Gonzales, Gonzales Co., Texas. These digital captures were shot with a Canon EOS 10D and EF 70-200 mm F/2.8 L IS lens with a 2X extender and 550 EX flash. The first two shots show a male Blue-faced Ringtail with a female Powdered Dancer it has captured.
This shot shows a female Blue-faced Ringtail looking straight at the camera.
Female Blue-faced Ringtail.
The next two shots were taken in August, 2004, at the same location as previous images. One shot shows a pair of Blue-faced Ringtails in copula and the next shot shows a robber fly with a ringtail. Both these shots were taken with a Canon EOS 1D Mark II and a 300 mm F/4 L IS lens with 2X extender and 550 EX flash.
This shot shows a Robber Fly (genus Diogmites) that has captured an adult female Blue-faced Ringtail.
The next 5 images are an assortment of shots of male Blue-faced Ringtail taken in 2003 and 2004. All these shots were taken at the same location in Gonzales, Gonzales Co., Texas.
The image shown here shows a female Blue-faced Ringtail perched on a dew-covered grass blade in Gonzales, Texas, in August, 2007. This shot was taken with a Canon EOS 1D Mark III and EF 300mm F/4 L IS lens and 2X extender and 580 flash.
The rather dull-colored female Blue-faced Ringtail shown here was at Gonzales, Texas, in August, 2009. The same photo gear as previously described was used for this image.
The next 3 images of Blue-faced Ringtail (a female, followed by two males) were at the same location in Gonzales Co., Texas, but in July, 2010. A Canon EOS 1D Mark IV and an EF 300mm F/4 L IS lens and 2X extender and 580 flash was used to take these shots.
The next eight shots of Blue-faced Ringtail (two shots of a male followed by six shots of females) were taken in Gonzales Co., Texas, in August, 2011, with a Canon EOS 1D Mark IV and a Sigma 50-500mm lens and Canon 580 flash.
The next four images of Blue-faced Ringtail were taken in July, 2012, at the same location as all the above images, in Gonzales, Texas. A male is on the right.
A male Blue-faced Ringtail.
A female Blue-faced Ringtail
A female Blue-faced Ringtail