Of Damselflies And Dragonflies

May 25, ’09 8:10 AM
Author ratchetcat Categories Photographs Tags , ,

This photograph depicts a female ebony jewelwing -- a small dragonfly with long dark body and wings -- perched on a leaf. The tips of the wings have white dots.

In this photograph, a female Widow Skimmer -- a dragonfly with nearly transparent wings (save for two stripes of brown which stretch across them) -- clings to the stalk of a small plant.

This photograph shows the female Ebony Jewelwing from the front. Its large eyes dwarf the diminutive face. It's a flighty creature! Constantly moving.

Damselflies and dragonflies belong on every list of favorite insects. Beyond their beauty and inoffensive nature, they possess a ravenous appetite for mosquitos, which makes them allies to every human and warm-blooded animal.

(Years ago, while hiking near lakes in the Oregon Cascades, I would sometimes pass through clouds of dragonflies. They almost appeared to be hovering as their wings beat against the breezes off the water.)

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Comments

2 Comments so far. Comments are closed.
  1. Sam,
    Tue May 26, 2009 at 8:34 pm

    Wonderful photographs :) I’m liking the last one, looks so innocent and almost inquisitive.

    I agree! Dragonflies are among my favorite insects, next to moths.

  2. ratchetcat,
    Wed May 27, 2009 at 2:13 pm

    Thanks, Sam. The lady damselfly seemed pretty inquisitive to me at the time — she spent quite a bit of time circling me and landing, circling and landing. She tried a few different vantage points before settling down for a good stare. ;)

    (Moths are pretty elusive. Photographing that little Horace’s Dustwing a few weeks ago was pure luck.)