We’re almost at the end of the dragonfly season now in Northern Virginia and soon I’ll be seeing only the Autumn Meadowhawks (Sympetrum vicinum), historically the last dragonflies of the year to disappear. This past Monday, though, I managed to find a few Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum ambiguum), unusually hardy survivors this late in the season.
I really enjoy trying to get close-up shots of these colorful little dragonflies and my favorite shot is this close-up of one of them, perched on a fallen leaf.
When you pull back a little, you can see how tough the season has been for this dragonfly—portions of its wings are shredded. Somehow, however, it managed to fly about as though its wings were undamaged.
Temperatures last night dropped down into the upper 30’s F (3-4 degrees C) and I doubt that I will see any more Blue-faced Meadowhawks. I am resigned to the possibility that these may be my last shots of the year of these stunning little dragonflies, but that won’t keep me from searching really hard for them later today.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I like the huge eyeballs. You have captured some fine detail here.
Thanks, Dan. I love trying to take advantage of the capabilities of my macro lens by getting in close. The challenge is to have enough depth of field to capture the fine details of the important elements of the subject, like the eyes of the dragonfly.
Nice macros. There must be other insects around too, otherwise there wouldn’t be anything for the dragonflies to eat. I’ve seen a couple of flies and a ladybug or two, but that’s about it.
There are still a bunch of insects buzzing around. We still haven’t had below freezing weather, so maybe that’s why everything is hanging on.
Now thats one handsome fella, excellent shots..:-)
Thanks, Ed. It’s hard to beat that color combination–very distinctive and very beautiful.
Those eyes are like jewels. Beautiful shots.
Reblogged this on startachim blog.