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Excerpts from Jim Conrad's
Naturalist Newsletter
from the October 30, 2011 Newsletter issued from Mayan Beach Garden Inn 20 kms north of Mahahual; Caribbean coastal beach and mangroves, ~N18.89°, ~W87.64°, Quintana Roo state, MÉXICO
SADDLEBAG DRAGONFLY
Beside the mangroves a curious dragonfly perched, seen below:
The black items midway the dragonfly's body are what's unusual. From below they looked like little black bundles attached to the abdomen, though up close you can see that they're just darkly pigmented cells at the bases of otherwise transparent wings. Volunteer identifier Bea in Ontario figured out that this is a kind of "saddlebag glider," a glider being a kind of dragonfly.
My first guess was that it was the Red Saddlebags, Tramea onusta, but Paul in Mérida wrote convincing me that it's probably the Striped Saddlebags, TRAMEA CALVERTI. Paul writes:
In the peninsula are 3 species of Tramea with a small patch in the hindwing, Tramea calverti, T. abdominalis and T. insularis (not yet reported for quintana roo).Tramea calverti has black on the last 2 segments of the abdomen which extends to the sides of the segments, whereas T. abdominalis and T. insularis only have small black spots on the last 2 segments of the abdomen which do not extend to the sides of the segment.