Happy Halloween pennant

Photo: Mark Kluge

Photo: Gordon Karre.

Today is Halloween and what better way to celebrate is there than acknowledging the Halloween pennant (Celithemis eponina)!

This is an endemic to eastern North America, where it occurs from southern Canada to Mexico. In the southern part of its range it flies all year round, but at higher latitudes, it is seen between mid-June and mid-August.

It has been described as looking very similar to a butterfly, and is quite small, about 38 to 42 mm long. The name pennant refers to the way species of this genus perch at the tips of plants, waving in the breeze like pennants. It is not a migratory dragonfly, but it is quite striking.

See a map of citizen science records and more pictures of the Halloween pennant at iNaturalist

Photo: Ken Slade