Calico pennant

Mature male calico pennants are reddish brown to black with red brown wing marks and bright red, heart shaped spots down the abdomen. Females and young males instead show yellow wing marks and yellow abdominal spots, with a dark spot set back from each wingtip that stops short of the trailing edge.

Males perch on low twigs and grass stems over ponds and marshy shorelines and, unlike many dragonflies, tolerate other males nearby instead of defending a territory. Adults hunt small flying insects near the still water where they also breed.