Autumn Meadowhawk in late October

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Autumn Meadowhawk in late October

October 28, 2014 by Mike Powell

Many of the other dragonflies are gone for the season, but the Autumn Meadowhawks (Sympetrum vicinum) will be around for quite some time, possibly even into December. Autumn Meadowhawks like to perch on the ground much of the time, but yesterday I was happy to capture one in what I consider to be its natural environment, perched among the colorful leaves of the autumn foliage.

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, autumn, autumn foliage, Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum vicinum, Tamron 180mm macro lens | 12 Comments

12 Responses

on October 28, 2014 at 7:42 am | Reply svtakeiteasy

So delicate, Mike, and I love the fact we can see the shades of the leaf through the translucent wings of the dragonfly. Chris
on October 28, 2014 at 8:02 am | Reply dianaed2013

Interesting – perhaps the change in the weather will mean that they are no longer around
- on October 28, 2014 at 8:09 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Each time I visit my local marsh, I am prepared for the possibility that the dragonflies will be gone. It seems like there are fewer Blue-faced Meadowhawks, but the number of Autumn Meadowhawks seems to have increased. Incredibly, I saw Autumn Meadowhawks in early December two years ago.
on October 28, 2014 at 9:54 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

I wonder if our weather might be too cold because I haven’t seen a dragonfly for awhile now. At least I can still see them here.
on October 28, 2014 at 9:05 pm | Reply Garden Walk Garden Talk

Wow, seems late for this beautiful creature. I saw a dragonfly crossing the Danube on my trip and I thought of you. The weird thing about my trip was I saw just a handful of birds, and very few insects in Eastern Europe – even in rural areas. It made me wonder where was all the wildlife????
- on October 29, 2014 at 7:47 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Your photos show that you had an amazing trip. It’s so strange how wildlife and insects seem to be so geographically specific. Surprisingly enough,the Autumn Meadowhawk tolerates the cold better than other dragonflies and is almost always the last one standing. Two years ago, I actually photographed one in December. We don’t have super harsh winters here in Northern Virgina, but it does get cold nonetheless.
on October 30, 2014 at 7:47 pm | Reply Sue

I don’t think it has been all that cold here in MN, but we don’t seem to have any of the insects that you have seen recently. The bees are almost comatose on the flowers these days, and I haven’t seen a dragonfly for a couple of weeks now.
- on October 30, 2014 at 8:39 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  We’re supposed to drop down in the 40’s at night this weekend, so most of our dragonflies may disappear, except for the hard Autumn Meadowhawks, which seem able to tolerate cold weather better than others.
on November 2, 2014 at 4:55 am | Reply Marie Keates

What a perfect combination.
- on November 2, 2014 at 5:13 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Marie.
on November 3, 2014 at 2:27 pm | Reply Charlie@Seattle Trekker

Love the stunning detail. Great images.
- on November 3, 2014 at 6:41 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Charlie.