by Cindy Walker Burton

I encounter a variety of interesting and beautiful insects on my daily walks such as beetles, butterflies, spiders, caterpillars, and dragonflies. I recently found a plathemis lydia (common white tail skimmer dragonfly) for the very first time. Its abdomen looks like it was dipped in chalk. The technical name for the waxy white powder is pruinosity. Found only on males, pruinosity serves as a natural sunscreen, signals dominance, and warns competing males away from breeding territory.