Blue Dashers (Pachydiplax longipennis) are one of our most common dragonflies and were an early favorite when I started to get more serious about my photography eight years ago. I still enjoy capturing images of them, especially when the lighting is as interesting as it was last Tuesday during a visit to Green Spring Gardens with my friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer.
I had a lot of fun trying to track the male Blue Dasher dragonflies as they flew among the lotuses and water lilies at a small pond. Most of the time they would perch on distant plants, out of range of my macro lens, but on a few occasions they came closer. The first image shows one perched on the broken-off stalk of a lotus, partially in the shadow of other lotuses. The second image shows a Blue Dasher perched in the light, atop what I believe is one of the lily pads, though there is a slight chance that it might be a lotus leaf.
Yes, Blue Dashers are still among my favorites, even after all of these years.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Impressive shots, as always.
Thanks, Ted, for your kind words. I wish they were all impressive, but I will settle for a few impressive ones from time to time. 🙂
That’s more than most people get 😂😂😂
Namaste, Mr. Mike! Both Blue Dasher dragonflies are beautiful. I love the pretty green eyes and the blue color of the body in the top photo. I have a question. In the bottom photo I can’t find the hindwing on the right side even when I make it the biggest that I can. How can it fly without all 4 wings? Thank you and Bye!
You have sharp eyes, Benjamin. At first I thought that it was something about the angle at which I took the photo that made it look like the wing was not there. After reading your comment, I went back over my photos and found one where it was perched on a branch and it is clear that the right hindwing is entirely missing. I saw it fly from that perch to the one in the photo that I posted, so I know that it can fly. How? All I can guess is that it has learned to make adjustments with the other three wings. I have seen several dogs with only three legs because of an accident or disease and somehow they manage to walk and even run. It is amazing how well wild creatures and even people can adjust by using the capabilities they have.
Yet another case of their amazing capability of compensating for what we would call severe disabilities. Dragonflies with only three wings or only one normaly-functional eye or a deformed abdomen? Spiders who have lost multiple legs? Butterflies and moths with tattered wings? Bring it on; they’ll deal with it.
I am constantly being amazed, Gary, by what I see in nature and in humans as well. Disabilities are real, but they don’t necessarily translate into limitations.
BTW, ever since I first read your title for this post, my mind’s ear has been playing it substituted for the original text–and overwritten in the music–for Ghost Riders In the Sky.
I love how your mind works, Gary. 🙂 I am listening to Ghost Riders in the Sky right now. I did not realize that so many singers had covered that song. The version that I am playing right now was done in 1980 by The Outlaws. I think I probably remember best the version done by Johnny Cash or the one by The Highwaymen, which sounds awesome. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOWjX4BpC24)
Benjamin and I returned a short time ago to see if you had read his comment and answered his question. We read your response together and Benjamin was happily astounded! He was so happy that you had actually seen it fly! Benjamin would have responded to you himself, but Mommy returned and they had to depart immediately. So if you do not mind, at his request,Gem will handle this for him! First, allow me to tell you that Benjamin spotted the missing wing straight away prior to any enlargements. Pointing to the area he said : “Wait a minute Gem, where is his hindwing?” I said I thought it might be folded over or just hidden and that elicited an eye roll and a sigh. He enlarged the photo twice, studied it closely and then like an instructor pointed out two undeniable facts. “Gem, see where the hindwing attaches to the thorax on the right side, no wing! See the front two legs under the forewing and the back leg isn’t under a wing cause the hindwing isn’t there!” We pondered for a bit about how that might have happened, but came to no definite conclusion. Benjamin thought the Blue Dasher never had one because it did not have any visible remaining broken wing pieces that he could find. That is when he posed the question he typed to you. I am not supposed to tell Mr. Mike this, but Benjamin was not entirely sold on the comparison between an animal with three legs having mobility and an insect flying with a missing wing : ” cause flying in the sky isn’t the same as walking and running on the ground.” On a side note here, I must admit that Benjamin has become my Dragonfly mentor! Thank-you, Mr. Mike x 2!!
Wow, once again I am amazed at how sharp Benjamin is. I did not really pay much attention in the photo to the hind wing, assuming that it was just the angle. I sent you a photo via e-mail with a shot from a different angle that suggests that the dragonfly might have had the wing originally. Regarding flying ability, my understanding is that the wings are operated individually and not in pairs, so it might be possible for the other three wings to compensate to a certain degree for the missing one. Benjamin has us all thinking. For what it’s worth, nobody else has commented on the missing wing yet.
Very nice, Mike. I am glad you enjoy the chase. Sometimes I do but other times, with those that never stop moving, I am just frustrated. Catching them in flight as you do is impressive and allows you more great shots like these.
Thanks, Steve. I tend to be more patient than many of my peers and persistent as well–some might characterize that trait as “stubborn.” 🙂
Nice Mike! I was trying to figure out if the hind wing was missing or at an odd angle. The comments cleared that up!
I am amazed that it can perch on the EDGE of that lily pad!
Dragonflies seem almost weightless when they are perched on you. How do I know? On numerous occasions I have had one perch on me. It’s tough to get a shot in those circumstance, but here is a post when I managed to get shots of one perched on my leg. https://michaelqpowell.com/2015/11/27/perched-on-me/
How special! You will not forget that anytime soon!
Thanks for the link to that fantastic performance of Ghost Riders by the Highwaymen–what a classic! And I’m afraid my mind has gone on a tangent and brought up another one that one of the members of my band played for us at the cabin last year that’s well worth sharing. It’s also a classic song, but the delivery is unique, to say the least: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=forqmom3YuY
Wow, I am pretty sure, Gary, that I have never conceived of an Elton John song like Rocket Man being played on the banjo. It was really well done, but, as you noted, it was definitely “unique.”
Such beautiful blues in that dasher, Mike. I can see why they are your favourites!
Thanks, Chris. Blue also happens to be my favorite color and I seem especially drawn to all shades of it.
Nice photos! We have two areas near my home with a lot of dragonflies. I fell in love with them and I’m trying to identify as many as I can. The one I see the most is also the blue dasher. Any dragonfly with simmering wings is simply beautiful!
Thanks, Lisa. I think if is easy to fall in love with the grace and beauty of dragonflies, but I am obviously a bit biased. I think they add something special to a summer day and am always happy to meet fellow dragonfly lovers.
😊