Roseate skimmer
On October 4th I photographed a dragonfly that I take to be a roseate skimmer, Orthemis ferruginea.
Why the photograph doesn’t show six legs remains a mystery.
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Portraits of Wildflowers 
It’s possible to have lost a pair of legs avoiding getting eaten, or some other way. I see four legged insects every now and again (esp. roaches who will rip off legs in order to escape a sticky entrapment). Yours is a beautiful subject, missing legs or no, and I find Odonata fascinating. Good thing they’re just tiny insects now and not the behemoths of the past!
Here’s a good read on them that my kids found some time back.
http://listverse.com/2013/04/18/10-surprisingly-brutal-facts-about-dragonflies/
Shannon
November 16, 2018 at 6:22 AM
What’s stranger is that a picture taken a minute and half later on a different perch shows five legs, with the frontmost on the right being the missing one. I can’t be positive the individual was the same, but I think it was.
That’s quite an informative article you linked to. I now know many times as much about dragonflies as I knew before. And yes, I’d read about those giant dragonflies of aeons past; I wouldn’t want to get attacked by one.
Steve Schwartzman
November 16, 2018 at 8:03 AM
What a lovely colour and it blends in well with the soft pinkish grey background.
Heyjude
November 16, 2018 at 7:41 AM
With animals in nature a photographer doesn’t usually get to choose the background, so you’re right that I lucked out with this soft and harmonious one. I was also lucky that the dragonfly stayed put and let me get this close.
Steve Schwartzman
November 16, 2018 at 8:08 AM
Quite. They are tricky things to get a good shot of.
Heyjude
November 16, 2018 at 8:16 AM
They are, and more get away than get photographed well—or at all.
Steve Schwartzman
November 16, 2018 at 8:40 AM
Such delicate washes of color!
Susan Scheid
November 16, 2018 at 9:58 AM
You and Jude (above) are both thinking in painterly terms.
Steve Schwartzman
November 16, 2018 at 11:19 AM
Outstanding shot, Steve.
oneowner
November 16, 2018 at 10:41 AM
I went out and this dragonfly stood out.
Steve Schwartzman
November 16, 2018 at 11:26 AM
Yikes, that is one eye-opener of a bug!
Robert Parker
November 16, 2018 at 5:36 PM
So you’re bug-eyed over this picture.
Steve Schwartzman
November 16, 2018 at 5:48 PM
Very pretty – not one I’ve seen here!!
norasphotos4u
November 16, 2018 at 8:07 PM
Several species of reddish dragonflies call Austin home, including a couple that are bright red:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/a-bright-red-dragonfly-on-a-grapevine/
Steve Schwartzman
November 16, 2018 at 9:00 PM
Great photo!
montucky
November 16, 2018 at 9:26 PM
I was pleased with it.
Steve Schwartzman
November 16, 2018 at 9:58 PM
it’s because it’s an alien from that probe that passed by us 🙂
Elisa
November 17, 2018 at 9:44 AM
You win a prize for the most imaginative explanation.
Steve Schwartzman
November 17, 2018 at 10:51 AM
What a beauty!
bayphotosbydonna
November 17, 2018 at 12:53 PM
Yes, one of our prettier ones.
Steve Schwartzman
November 17, 2018 at 1:49 PM
Beautiful!
Jenny Meadows
November 18, 2018 at 4:54 AM
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/14-fun-facts-about-dragonflies-96882693/ In the image in this article, the dragonfly appears to have its front legs retracted considerably. I wonder if the same thing has happened with the roseate skimmer in your photo. 4 legs or 6, it’s a very attractive creature.
Gallivanta
November 18, 2018 at 4:58 AM
That’s a good hypothesis, and one supported by the evidence of the photo you linked to. And as you say, either way it’s an attractive creature.
Steve Schwartzman
November 18, 2018 at 6:05 AM
I’ve seen exactly one of these. It was the first dragonfly photo I attempted, and it left me with a sense of serious respect for people who can get great photos of them — like this one.
I wondered about retracted legs. Birds so often stand on one leg, with the other completely retracted and hidden, I wondered if a resting dragonfly might do the same. An online search wasn’t satisfactory, since any reference to ‘dragonfly’ and ‘legs’ led primarily to general descriptions. Somewhere I have or had a link to an “ask an entymologist” site. If I can find it, I’ll ask.
shoreacres
November 18, 2018 at 8:19 AM
The trick, if trick it be, is getting near enough without the subject flying away. Once I was this close, the photograph pretty much took care of itself.
If you learn any more about the legs, do let us know.
Steve Schwartzman
November 18, 2018 at 9:10 AM
The insect is lovely, with four, five, or six legs.
tanjabrittonwriter
November 20, 2018 at 11:04 PM
You can count on the loveliness without counting the legs.
Steve Schwartzman
November 21, 2018 at 5:49 AM
A mystery indeed .. but oh so handsome! Love those colours ..
Julie@frogpondfarm
November 22, 2018 at 11:40 AM
No question that this is a colorful species. We have another that’s even a more vivid red:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/a-bright-red-dragonfly-on-a-grapevine/
Steve Schwartzman
November 22, 2018 at 1:04 PM
Divine …
Julie@frogpondfarm
November 22, 2018 at 1:09 PM
Beautiful! I have come to photograph dragonflies this year when I discovered hordes of them at our local wetlands. I, too, notice that sometimes they only stand on 4 legs. I found two of the legs curled up behind their head! This Roseate is lovely!
lisaonthebeach
August 24, 2020 at 10:23 PM
I’m glad you like it. I’d forgotten this picture till you called attention to it with your comment. It’s good to have hordes of dragonflies in your local wetlands—the better to take pictures. The most recent dragonfly picture I posted was nine days ago:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2020/08/15/widow-skimmer-dragonfly-on-poverty-weed/
Steve Schwartzman
August 24, 2020 at 10:31 PM
I saw that one! He is gorgeous! I’m on a mission to identify as many as I can. I’ve identified about 10 or 12. It keeps me out of trouble 😁
lisaonthebeach
August 24, 2020 at 10:40 PM
Good luck with your identifications. I’m better at photographing them than figuring out what they are.
Steve Schwartzman
August 25, 2020 at 5:28 AM