When I captured these two images of mating dragonflies on the 10th of November, I did not realize that their frantic efforts to perpetuate their species that day would mark an end to this year’s dragonfly season for me. There is a chance that some especially hardy Autumn Meadowhawks (Sympetrum vicinum) may have survived our recent spell of bitter cold, but realistically speaking, it’s time to put my macro lenses on the shelf and focus my photographic efforts and birds (and the occasional small mammal).
The Autumn Meadowhawks in the first image were a little higher off the ground that the Blue-faced Meadowhawks (Sympetrum ambiguum) in the second shot and I managed to get into a better shooting position to capture details and separate the dragonflies a bit from the background. In case of the Blue-faced Meadowhawks, I was so thrilled to see them so late into November that I was willing to settle for a lower angle shot with a more cluttered background.
Most of the time I feature only a single species of dragonflies in a posting and it’s a little hard to compare the featured dragonflies with others. It’s a whole lot easier to see the differences between the species when you compare the two photos here.
And so this year’s dragonfly season draws to a close, as the mating couples dance their last tango of the autumn.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Nice macros! I like the colors in that second shot.
I do a lot of macro photography in the winter but my subjects usually aren’t moving.
Such great documentation of these lovely insects. I enjoy watching them and occasionally photographing them, but your posts have taught me so much! When does their next season begin?
Some insects (not dragonflies necessarily) are such a pain in the rear-end as a rule, but when you look at them so close up, they are another wonder of nature. Who’d have figured? Lucky you to be there with camera in hand to capture these shots. Fantastic Share. Thank you!. 🙂
I’m confused, Mike. When I saw you on Veteran’s Day, 11 November 2014, you said you saw/photo’d Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonflies. Which date is the last day you spotted Blue-faces, the 10th or the 11th?
I saw (and photographed) Blue-faced and Autumn Meadowhawks on the 11th, but not mating pairs. The 10th was the final hurrah for the couples, with the singles hanging on for at least another day. For the purposes of the blog title, I figured that it takes two to tango.
Your photos are so superb…Love the information.