Females are a real mystery to me, especially when it comes to dragonflies. At this time of the year I see a lot of different dragonflies and I have featured a number of the colorful males over the past few weeks. They are relatively easy to identify when they are mature—immature males, however, often have the same coloration as females.
The challenge with females, particularly a number of the members of the Skimmer family, is that they all look pretty much the same. This past Friday I photographed this beautiful female dragonfly and I love the two-toned coloration of her eyes. After consulting with my local dragonfly expert Walter Sanford, I have concluded that she is probably a Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans), though she doesn’t have a spot of blue on her
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
I just knew that this was your work – such a joy to see all the detail as well as reading your comments
Thanks. When I first started this blog, it was primarily a way for me to display the photos that I was taking. Over time I realized that I enjoyed using it as a way to express myself in my words as well as in my photos. I get such joy out of seeing and sharing the natural world as I experience it through the lens of my camera and it is wonderful to read that you share some of that sense of joy.
I find insects difficult when it comes to identifications. Plants seem so much easier!
I think it’s partially a question of familiarity. I remember when I first started to shoot dragonflies and they seemed so hard to identify. Now I can identify most of the common species pretty easily and sometimes can even tell what they are from the way that they fly (e.g. some fly low to the ground or perch high on plants).
Gorgeous. Your macro shots are just beautiful (or was this with a telephoto lens)?
Thanks, Sue. Given that I am shooting on a crop sensor Canon 50D. my Tamron 180mm macro has a field of view equivalent to a 288mm lens. So I guess it’s both a macro and a telephoto shot!.