Dragonflies Today

[Brian Bailey]

I visited Sam Smith Park this afternoon looking for bugs to shoot and found some cooperative dragons and damsels.
This 12 Spotted Skimmer was very compliant:
 

This juvenile Eastern Forktail struck some nice poses:

There were adults around too.  Here's a male:

There were Blue Dashers in a couple of places.  This mating pair never wanted to perch very close to me.  This was the best I could do looking into the afternoon sun:


There were also lots of Green Darners and a few Black Saddlebags patrolling the fields.

Higher res photos are at http://picasaweb.google.ca/n.stop.photo/Bugs#

BB

[gary yankech]

hi...nice set of dragonflies. I was previewing your picasa site.....I am pretty sure that your Unidentified Lestes Spreadwing is a female Slender Spreadwing due to its thorax S7 being twice larger than S8. I would check into this to be sure.  

check out this photo

http://www.dragonhunter.net/lestes_rectangularis_f.html

Gary Yankech

[gary yankech]

Again, after preview your picasa account, the dragonfly you have not identified I am pretty sure it is a female emerald spreadwing, although in your picture the blue eyes are throwing me off and the dark black pattern under the brown stripe.  Usually the males have the blue eyes.  I checked my field guides and a few pics online and am fairly confident about this.

http://www.cirrusimage.com/damselfly_em ... adwing.htm

http://www.pbase.com/laroseforest/image/114053403

Emeralds are fairly common in Ontario but as a second choice, it might be a female elegant spreadwing which is less common.

Gary Yankech

[Brian Bailey]

Thanks Gary,

I didn't feel confident about the ID of either of those spreadwings, but I think you may be right about the Slender Spreadwing considering the very long S7.

The other one with the blue eyes I'm not so sure on either.  I was kind of leaning towards Spotted Spreadwing.

BB

[Julie]

I see there are some experts here, thank goodness! We had a dragonfly overnighting on our rose bush in east end TO. It was very large-- heavy front end, wingspan and body length both exceeding the size of my palm/ the span of the large, fully opened rose on which it was resting. It had a pale green body and clear wings (no spots, just the usual webbing pattern); the leading edge of the uppermost wings was a thin gold line.

I can try  to post a pic, but it was taken on an iPhone and dusk was falling, so it it poor quality. Any thoughts appreciated!

[Moira]

Nice pictures Brian.  Can I ask what you're shooting them with?

[Julie]

Any guesses as to the dragonfly question I posted above? Or is there not enough to go on? Sorry, these creatures are a mystery to me and I know very little. Even some guesses will help me do some research....

[Brian Bailey]

Julie,

Your dragonfly sounds like a Common Green Darner:

This one's a female.  The male has a bright blue abdomen.  There aren't many other large dragonflies that are mainly green.  Green Darners usually hang vertically like this one.

Google anax junius to find more images.

BB

[Brian Bailey]

Nice pictures Brian.  Can I ask what you're shooting them with?

Thanks Moira,

I'm using a Canon 40D.  I usually use my 70-300 IS for dragonflies and my 100mm macro for damselflies.  I can pretty much fill the frame with a large dragonfly at minimum focus distance with the 300mm, and that's about as close as most dragonflies let you get.  Most damselflies and some dragonflies will allow me to get close enough to use the 100mm.

Be patient and approach slowly.  Also, don't jump up as soon as they fly.  Many species will return to the same perch or even move closer to you.

BB

[Andreas Jonsson]

Wonderful close-ups! Thanks for sharing.

[JW Mills]

Wow! Amazing photos!