This image is a little gruesome, but here is a close-up look at an Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis) as it consumed a damselfly that it had captured this past Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Northern Virginia. The second image shows a different Eastern Pondhawk with a different damselfly—the pondhawks seemed to have a particularly voracious appetite that day.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
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The rough edge of nature. Great captures, Mike.
Thanks, Dan. All creatures have to eat and many of them are carnivores (or omnivores).
I once watched a damselfly consume another damselfly, bite by bite. The only thing left at the end of the meal was the unfortunate damselfly’s eyes.
I brought them home and photographed them, but at that point in time I didn’t yet have a macro lens, and the experience played into my decision to purchase one. As for the photo, it’s still in my files, just for the record. I still wonder why those eyes ended up as leftovers.
Yikes. I have never hung around long enough to observe a complete “meal” like that. Macro lenses are amazing and allow us to photograph things we really don’t see well with our naked eyes. There are always challenges with using a macro lens (like the shallow depth of field in the need for a steady hand), but I love mine and it is often my go-to lens in the summer.
Actually, it was easy enough to watch, because I was at work, and the little drama was playing out on a rail of the boat I was working on. I love my “office.”
It’s all part of nature. Everybody has to eat and nothing is wasted.