Fyn Kynd’s close-up of a Calico Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis elisa) has been selected as iNaturalist’s Observation of the Week.

Fyn (@fyn_kynd), an eighth grader from Searsmont, Maine, found this female specimen along the edge of a swamp on Hog Island, located in Muscongus Bay, Maine. He made the picture during the Coastal Maine Bird Studies for Teens Camp, sponsored by the Audubon Society.

When asked about his interests, the homeschooled 14-year-old said, “My favorite subjects are photography and anything in nature, whether it's mountain biking, swimming, or getting up at dawn to see migrating birds, I love it all.”

A birder at heart, Fyn says his “second loves” are butterflies and dragonflies. He’s been a nature photographer for about three years.

“I use a Canon 7D with a 400mm f/5.6 lens for my bird and dragonfly shots where I sometimes use an extension tube to let me get a little closer to my subjects,” said Fyn. “For macro I use a 50mm f/1.8 portrait lens with extension tubes.”

Celithemis elisa belongs to the order Odonata, which is divided into two suborders, Anisoptera (dragonflies) and Zygoptera (damselflies). There are approximately 407 odonate species represented in North America and >5000 worldwide.

Commonly called Pennants, Celithemis is a genus of 8 species, all native to eastern North America, where they primarily inhabit riparian ecosystems.

Because dragonflies depend on freshwater, a very at-risk ecosystem, they are often good environmental quality indicators. Dr. Viola Clausnitzer, a scientist with the IUCN’s Dragonfly Specialist Group studies dragonfly populations and their role in freshwater conservation efforts. She calls them “guardians of the watershed.”

Citizen Scientists: Keep exploring. Keep sharing.

Maybe your discovery will become an iNaturalist Observation of the Week!

By Matthew Monte

Hey, iNaturalists! See something that blows your mind? Click ‘Add to favorites’ so it can be considered for the Observation of the Week!

iNaturalist is pleased to announced the launch of our Observation of the Week program! Our first Observation of the Week comes from Pavel Kirilov (@pavelkirilov), a biology and chemistry teacher from St. Petersburg, Russia.

Kirilov, who is also a macrophotographer, made this picture of a Ladybird Beetle in Mexico City near the National Autonomous University of Mexico campus, where he found it in the grooved bark of an oak tree.
The Ladybird family, Coccinellidae, is a beetle family with over 5,000 described species found worldwide.
“Since childhood I've been fascinated with nature, especially with bugs, and always dreamed of tropical places,” said Kirilov. “Back when I was growing up, places like Borneo or Mexico seemed like different worlds. Not only were they far away, but travel outside the Soviet Union was restricted back then. Fortunately, that went away in the 1990s.”
Kirilov’s observation was made while out walking a pair of Tibetan Mastiffs that were straining against their leashes, which made stopping to photograph the <10 mm Ladybird specimen with his Nikon D90 and SB 900 flash all the more challenging.

Citizen Scientists: Keep exploring. Keep sharing.

Maybe your discovery will become an iNaturalist Observation of the Week!

By Matthew Monte