I have decided to try to dokument the fauna of dragonflies at our local lake and stream.
Here are a few pictures of the nicest moments from today.
Full size on Flickr
The wonderful metallic Common Spreadwing (Lestes sponsa). Stacked from two handheld exposures.
Full size on Flickr
This might look confusing at first because of the reflections in the water.
It is a mating pair of Large Redeye (Erythromma najas). The male sits on the plant stem.
His abdomen goes down in the "hole" in the water where it grips around the submerged female's (invisible) neck.
The female has pulled the surface of the water down like a funnel and only her wings protude above the surface.
The reflection of her wings is of course curved by the reflecting curved water surface.
A few moments later she disappered completely und water.
[Edit 27-07-2021: Changed a link to Flickr to correct for a double upload]
My local dragonflies
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My local dragonflies
Last edited by Troels on Mon Jul 26, 2021 3:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Troels Holm, biologist (retired), environmentalist, amateur photographer.
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- rjlittlefield
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Re: My local dragonflies
The second one is lovely -- great capture of a surprising aspect of the life of this damselfly!
--Rik
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- MarkSturtevant
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Re: My local dragonflies
Those are beautiful. That 2nd one is very special!
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters
Dept. of Still Waters
Re: My local dragonflies
Great capture! Beautifully executed.
Dave
Dave
Re: My local dragonflies
Rik, Mark and Dave,
Thanks for nice replies,
I appreciate it.
Troels
Thanks for nice replies,
I appreciate it.
Troels
Troels Holm, biologist (retired), environmentalist, amateur photographer.
Visit my Flickr albums
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Re: My local dragonflies
I have now taken my time to sort and edit the rest of the (600+) pictures from that nice day.
Here is a follow up to my first picture of the egglaying Redeyed Damselfly from a few days ago.
Placing her eggs furter down on the plant stem the female slowly moved deeper down into the water and the male followed.
This picture from a few moments later shows how the big funnel shown i my former post has "collapsed". The wings of the female and the abdomen of the male are now separated by water. You can see a hint of the female's head just below the point where the male's abdomen penetrates the surface.
Here the female is completely submerged. You can se the upper edge of her wings as a light streak in the water just above the reflection of the male's wings.
The real mating (forming the well-known wheel or heart) has ended before she started the eggaying, so I wonder why the male keeps his grip on her neck. It could protect her from beeing "attacked" by other males and disturbed in the egglaying process. And perhaps she benefits from some mechanical support while climbing around in the water and perhaps beeing pulled upwards by surface tension or airbubbles?
I had to sit down to get the right angle and support. At this moment I discoverede my pants were soaked wet. So I don't know how it ended. I saw an other female floating around apparently dead.
You might wonder why it is called Big Redeye since the eyes of the shown male are only brown-reddish. This male must be a newly matured specimen. Later the red color becomes more striking. Like in this older male: Stack of 4 pictures.
All images taken handheld with the Olympus 40-150mm f: 2.8 + 1.4 teleconverter and cropped more or less.
Here is a follow up to my first picture of the egglaying Redeyed Damselfly from a few days ago.
Placing her eggs furter down on the plant stem the female slowly moved deeper down into the water and the male followed.
This picture from a few moments later shows how the big funnel shown i my former post has "collapsed". The wings of the female and the abdomen of the male are now separated by water. You can see a hint of the female's head just below the point where the male's abdomen penetrates the surface.
Here the female is completely submerged. You can se the upper edge of her wings as a light streak in the water just above the reflection of the male's wings.
The real mating (forming the well-known wheel or heart) has ended before she started the eggaying, so I wonder why the male keeps his grip on her neck. It could protect her from beeing "attacked" by other males and disturbed in the egglaying process. And perhaps she benefits from some mechanical support while climbing around in the water and perhaps beeing pulled upwards by surface tension or airbubbles?
I had to sit down to get the right angle and support. At this moment I discoverede my pants were soaked wet. So I don't know how it ended. I saw an other female floating around apparently dead.
You might wonder why it is called Big Redeye since the eyes of the shown male are only brown-reddish. This male must be a newly matured specimen. Later the red color becomes more striking. Like in this older male: Stack of 4 pictures.
All images taken handheld with the Olympus 40-150mm f: 2.8 + 1.4 teleconverter and cropped more or less.
Troels Holm, biologist (retired), environmentalist, amateur photographer.
Visit my Flickr albums
Visit my Flickr albums
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Re: My local dragonflies
A really visually striking series of images, with a most helpful narrative explanation. Thank you!
Leonard
Leonard