I was happy to see that some of my favorite dragonflies were still around when I visited Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last Saturday, including this beautiful female Calico Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis elisa). The bright colors—yellow for the female and red for mature males—and beautiful patterns on the wings of this species never fail to delight and amaze me.
This is the only location in our area where I can find Calico Pennants. As we move closer to the end of summer, I am never sure when I will see the last one of the season, so I look carefully for them each time I am at this refuge. You might think that it would be easy to spot Calico Pennants, because of their bright colors, but their small size—about 1.3 inches (33 mm) in length—makes them a real challenge to find and photograph.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
A beauteous name to go with a magnificent little creature. Great photo Mike.🌸
Thanks, Suzette. There is so much beauty packed into their tiny bodies. 🙂
Yes, indeed magical.
Nice mix of colours on that one!
Thanks, Louella.
Very nice series of images Mike!
Thanks, Reed.
I love the overall colour palette in this series of portraits. The background shades both complement and harmonize with the dragonfly.
Thanks, Laura. This dragonfly species tends to perch on vegetation away from the water, so a lot of clutter in the background can be an issue. Fortunately I was able to blur it by using the right camera setting so it is not distracting and sometimes even complements the subject, as you noted.
Very nice captures, Mike, and so nice with that purple flower in the background along with the green. She’s a real beauty with the wing and abdomen patterns.
Thanks, Ellen. I worked the angles to try to get that color into the background and was happy that I managed to do so.
I never realised these are so small. It would make it tricky to spot and photograph!
“My” dragonflies come in all sizes. My next target species is called the Fine-lined Emerald and they should be emerging soon. They are about twice the length of the Calico Pennants at about 65mm in length. The Fine-lined Emeralds also perch by hanging vertically, so they pose a different challenge for me. 🙂
Stunning! Love seeing all those little legs clinging on, so cute! 😀
These are very impressive images.
Tour shots are always impressive.
Thanks, Lulu.
Superb images, Mike. I love how sharp the insect is against the soft background.
Thanks, Eliza. You have described what I try to do with many of my shots. There are a whole lot of variables in play when trying to achieve that effect, including proximity to the subject (the closer the better), distance from the subject to the background (the bigger the distance the better) and camera settings. There is a real premium on careful focusing so that at least the important parts of the subject are in focus .
Awesome shots and beautiful dragonfly Mike.
Thanks, Rudi.
[…] of weeks ago I featured a beautiful yellow-bodied female Calico Pennant dragonfly (see the posting Female Calico Pennant from 24 August if you need to refresh your memory of this delicate creature). Today I am […]