Mocha Emerald in September

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Mocha Emerald in September

September 15, 2015 by Mike Powell

Unlike Pumpkin Spice, Mocha Emerald is not a fall Starbucks flavor—it is a cool-looking dragonfly species that I was excited to spot yesterday at my favorite marshland park.

Every other time that I have observed a Mocha Emerald (Somatochlora linearis), the dragonfly has been perched in the shadows, so I was surprised yesterday to see one in full daylight. This Mocha Emerald, which looks to be a male seemed to be patrolling a stretch of a small stream. Occasionally it would stop to rest and perch vertically on vegetation sticking out low from the bank of the stream.

Getting a decent shot of the Mocha Emerald was quite a challenge. My camera’s auto focus had trouble fixing focus on the dragonfly’s long thin body so I had to focus manually; there was a breeze that was blowing that caused the dragonfly to swing in and out of my field of view as I looked through the viewfinder; and the background tended to be really cluttered.

The first shot is my favorite, because I was able to isolate the dragonfly by hanging over the stream (and almost falling in), although the other shots show some of the details of its body better.

Maybe there should be a Mocha Emerald latte, perhaps for Saint Patrick’s Day—I would be thrilled if it supplanted the green beer that still makes an appearance at some locations.

Posted in Art, Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Mocha Emerald, Mocha Emerald dragonfly, Somatochlora linearis, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 7 Comments

7 Responses

on September 15, 2015 at 7:43 am | Reply svtakeiteasy

Hi Mike – those eyes are strikingly green. Beautiful captures!
on September 15, 2015 at 1:02 pm | Reply Charlie@Seattle Trekker

Wow, I know you spend a lot of time and put a lot of effort into your posts; it is hard to say how grateful we all are for such amazing posts…Love the photos and really enjoyed the images.
on September 16, 2015 at 5:34 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

I’ll have to watch for this one. You certainly got some great shots of him which should help with identification if I see one. I think your third photo is my favorite.
on September 16, 2015 at 9:36 pm | Reply Ginny Alfano

Wow, Mike, what a beautiful Dragon! Must be more of a southern variety since we don’t see them this far north 😦 . Beautiful photos – especially the third one. I’m so happy that you got to see this beauty up close and in the sunlight. Thank you for sharing.
- on September 17, 2015 at 4:56 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Ginny. I am never quite certain about the geographic distribution of dragonflies–I know that some of them can have limited ranges and live only in very specific habitats.
on September 17, 2015 at 2:17 pm | Reply caleephotography

LOL, now that you mentioned it… Mocha Emerald sounds like a nice cup of coffee. Great pictures, Mike! Beautiful little dragon.
- on September 17, 2015 at 9:57 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Camilla. The numbers of dragonflies continue to drop as we move into autumn, but I’ll be there trying to photograph the last survivors.