This common whitetail skimmer was photographed on a summer afternoon in the backyard garden. I was able to capture this image as the dragonfly perched on a flowering stem of a blue salvia. This is a male, as can be recognized from the single dark pattern on each of its wings, compared to the dark tip and additional brown sections on the wings of the female. Dragonflies are quite striking in appearance, from their large eyes and 4 wings, to their iridescent colors and long, segmented, body.