I watched the most marvelous thing yesterday. I was weeding in my garden and deadheading my day lilies when ...
I had just gotten my camera to photograph some of the day lilies when this large dragonfly landed on the stem of one of my flowers about 10 feet away. I didn't even have to move!
There have been many, many times when I have moaned, "Oh, that I had the camera in my hands!" and so the 1st wonder is that the camera WAS in my hands. I started taking pictures.
What is happening? The dragonfly is not disturbed by my movements and it is curving its tail.
She, yes it is a female, is producing an egg glob ...
which just keeps on growing bigger as she bends her tail more and more.
Close-up of the egg ball
Final picture - 3rd wonder
There have been many, many times when I have moaned, "Oh, that I had the camera in my hands!" and so the 1st wonder is that the camera WAS in my hands. I started taking pictures.
Prince Baskettail - Epitheca princeps
The adult of this species flies almost continuously from sunrise to sunset and rarely stops to perch. The 2nd wonder: here I have a perched dragonfly that doesn't fly away when I move to take its picture from another angle. The male and female of this species are very similar. The Prince Baskettail is in the Emerald family, Corduliidae, and is one of the largest dragonflies in this family, up to 3" long.
What is happening? The dragonfly is not disturbed by my movements and it is curving its tail.
She, yes it is a female, is producing an egg glob ...
which just keeps on growing bigger as she bends her tail more and more.
Close-up of the egg ball
Final picture - 3rd wonderThe whole event took 6 minutes and then she flew away low over the water. She lays the egg ball on the stem of a water plant where the egg ball unrolls to form an egg rope 1-2 feet long. I hoped to see her lay her eggs but she flew further away over the water.
This dragonfly is call Prince because of its size and Baskettail because the female uses her tail like a basket to carry her eggs.
What a wonder of wonders to have watched this event unfold.
The references and gear I used for this blog are:
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS USM
Camera: Canon EOS 10D
Lens: Canon EF28-105mm F/3.5-4.5 II USM
Steiner 10x42 Predator Binoculars
Damselflies of Texas, A Field Guide
Damselflies of the North Woods
Dragonflies of the North Woods
Dragonflies and Damselflies of Texas and the South-Central United States
Dragonflies through Binoculars North America
Dragonflies of Indiana
North American Odonata Website
Odonata Central Website
All images © MSCI
This dragonfly is call Prince because of its size and Baskettail because the female uses her tail like a basket to carry her eggs.
What a wonder of wonders to have watched this event unfold.
The references and gear I used for this blog are:
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS USM
Camera: Canon EOS 10D
Lens: Canon EF28-105mm F/3.5-4.5 II USM
Steiner 10x42 Predator Binoculars
Damselflies of Texas, A Field Guide
Damselflies of the North Woods
Dragonflies of the North Woods
Dragonflies and Damselflies of Texas and the South-Central United States
Dragonflies through Binoculars North America
Dragonflies of Indiana
North American Odonata Website
Odonata Central Website
All images © MSCI
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