Can a dragonfly smile? I seemed to detect a cocky little smile when I moved in close for this shot of a handsome male Stream Cruiser (Didymops transversa) last Thursday in Prince William County. The macro view also allowed me to appreciate the beauty of his two-toned eyes and to note the curious-looking “chin strap.”
The second shot shows the entire body of the Stream Cruiser, a medium-sized dragonfly that is about 2.2 inches (56 mm) in length. The image also gives you a sense of the environment in which I spotted him—a large expanse of interrupted ferns adjacent to a stream.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Wow – what a shot!
As the old saying goes, “Fortune favors the bold.” I like to be stealthily bold in getting close to dragonflies for macro shots and they have to cooperate by staying in place.
You’re amazing.
Excellent captures, Mike! Interesting about the two-toned eye—I had recently noticed that on one I observed and wondered if it was a trick of the light. Your second image with the ferns really shows the Cruiser off.
Thanks, Ellen. I believe that the eyes are sometimes two-toned, though you have to be close and looking at the right angle. I use Paulson’s Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East as one of my primary references and he describes the male Stream Cruiser’s eyes as “brown with green highlights above.” If you are not familiar with the book, I highly recommend it. (https://www.amazon.com/Dragonflies-Damselflies-Princeton-Field-Guides/dp/0691122830)
There sure is plenty about the dragonflies to keep us looking! Thanks for the book recommendation, I’m ordering it today.
It is a pretty hefty book–almost 540 pages–but has lots of great info, including species that you may see that we don’t have here in Virginia. 🙂
I guess that’s why the hardcover is $809!
Very Nice Mike! I enjoy your dragonfly images!!
Beautiful photos Mike. I like the wider shot with the fern. Your photos have the most enchanting natural backdrops for these wonderful subjects. Great spotting!
Thanks, Suzette. I moved about quite a bit as I composed that shot, because I wanted to show the fems as well as I could, while keeping the dragonfly in focus.
Thank you for your work🙏🦟
That’s a great capture, Mike. It does look like a chin strap.
I have done a similar post in a dragonfly Facebook forum, Dan, and hope some expert will be able to tell me what that chin-strap thing really is. 🙂
Wonderful portrait!
Thanks, Michael. It was nice to find a cooperative dragonfly that was will to stay still long enough for me to take his portrait.
Yes. In my experience, pretty limited, they have a tendency to flit around and not stay put for very long.
Great photos! Every time I glance at your title instead of reading Stream cruiser I replace it with Steam cruiser. I am a goof!
They do seem to have a wry grin.