Dragonfly ID

This little dragonfly I photographed on Sept 1st. I was able to identify it as an Autumn Meadowhawk, with the help of my guide books.

I took this photo on Sept 2nd , but could not identify the dragonfly. Yesterday I decided to put the image on Bug Guide and within 6 minutes it was identified as a shadow darner. It is one of the mosiac darners, which have beautifully patterned males.

Here is the 2nd image that I sent to Bug Guide. It took a little longer for someone to identify this bug as a damselfly, a great spreadwing.

Here is the great spreadwing that I photographed in 2009. This ID business is not always easy.

Today there were at least 4 dragonflies on the wing, but unless they sit, I don't stand a chance of identifying them.