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.
Mike Powell 
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.