Dragonflies - Wonder of Wonders

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.

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 wonder

The 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

Texas Damselflies or Odonata

Damselflies are generally smaller than dragonflies. They have more slender bodies than dragonflies and differ in wing size and shape. The damselfly forewings and hindwings are the same size and shape and they hold their wings together over the back, except for the family of spreadwings. You can quickly see whether it is a dragonfly or a damselfly.

The first damselfly that caught my eye this spring in Texas, was the rubyspot. I could not believe it was so red. I also find it fascinating that male and female damselflies can have such different colors like in the Rambur's Forktail where the immature female is a bright orange that changes to an olive green in maturity.

American Rubyspot (Male) - Hetaerina americana

Smoky Rubyspot (Male) - Hetaerina titia

Blue-ringed Dancer (Male) - Agria sedula

Blue-fronted Dancer (Male) - Agria apicalis

Blue-fronted Dancer (Female) - Agria apicalis

Rambur's Forktail (Male) - Ischnura ramburii

Rambur's Forktail (Immature Female) - Ischnura ramburii

Fragile Forktail (Male) - Ischnura posita

Powdered Dancer (Male) - Agria moesta

Powdered Dancer (Female) - Agria moesta

The references and gear I used for this blog are:
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS 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

Texas Dragonflies or Odonata

We are back from our winter/spring vacation to Texas with 4,635 miles on the truck, 5,426 clicks with the camera and 41 days on the road in the sun and warmth. Maybe I should say heat since many days were over 90°. But I am not complaining since I wasn't cold!

Sometimes I can't decide whether I am a birder who takes pictures or a photographer who shoots bird photos and .... butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies, bugs, animals, reptiles, flowers, whatever catches my eye.

I have started to sort my photos and I photographed 11 new species of dragonflies and damselflies. I can't believe their colors and beauty.

Roseate Skimmer (Male) - Orthemis discolor

Common Whitetail (Male) - Plathemis lydia

Common Whitetail (Female) - Plathemis lydia

Eastern Pondhawk (Male) - Erythemis simplicicollis

Eastern Pondhawk (Female) - Erythemis simplicicollis

Plateau Dragonlet - Erythrodiplax basifusca

The references and gear I used for this blog are:
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS 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

Dragonflies or Odonata

I have been fascinated with dragonflies ever since a time I was birding at Saul Lake Bog, Kent County, MI in 2002. The meadows were full of dragonflies.

Banded Pennant - Celithemis fasciata (Skimmer Family - Libelludidae)

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Halloween Pennant - Celithemis eponina (Skimmer Family - Libelludidae)

Widow Skimmer - Libellula luctuosa (Skimmer Family - Libelludidae)

The next morning I was birding from my pontoon boat on the lake and managed to take a couple more dragonfly pictures. I was hooked!

Twelve-spotted Skimmer - Libellula pulchella (Skimmer Family - Libelludidae)

Blue Dasher - Pachydiplax longipennis (Skimmer Family - Libelludidae)

However, it was so difficult that I was not able to take more pictures worth keeping until this summer. I spent two mornings on my pontoon, pushed into the weeds along the shore, and have 5 different species. Dragonflies zigzag back and forth very fast in unpredictable directions. Some sit still for a few minutes but others never seem to rest. Then, since they are really quite small in a photo, you want to be very close the them, but they react to movement by flying farther away. And, of course, they have to pose in the right setting (perch, profile, sunlight, background) for an acceptable picture. (so many requirements, more than with bird photography)

Then, last week I learned a secret from James R Curry's book Dragonflies of Indiana. He captures many of his dragonflies in a net, cools them down to slow their movements, perches them in a suitable setting, and then takes his pictures. Now I know how an other photographer succeeds, but I don't think I will go that far. I'll just run my boat into the weeds and wait.

Calico Pennant - Celithemis elisa (Skimmer Family - Libelludidae)

Halloween Pennant - Celithemis eponina (Skimmer Family - Libelludidae)

It is one thing to manage a good photo, now I need to read, identify and learn more about dragonflies. Oh yes, there are damselflies too! (that is another story) It took me five years to identify the next photo and then only with the help of Kurt Mead, author of an excellent little book Dragonflies of the North Woods.

Prince Baskettail - Epitheca princeps (Emerald Family - Corduliididae)

The references and gear I used for this blog are:

Camera: Canon EOS 10D
Lens: Canon EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS USM
Steiner 10x42 Predator Binoculars
Dragonflies through Binoculars
North American Odonata Website
Odonata Central Website