This looks like such a tranquil scene, with two dragonflies of different species sharing a prime perch on a branch overhanging the pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, a moment of peaceful coexistence. However, I had been watching these two dragonflies for an extended period of time and knew that the moment of sharing was the exception rather than the rule.
The male Slaty Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula incesta) on the left and the male Swift Setwing (Dythemis velox) had been repeatedly challenging each other for sole possession of the perch. Whenever one of them would perch on the end of the branch, the other dragonfly would fly straight at the one that was perched, attempting either to dislodge the interloper or at least convince him to fly away. They went back and forth like this for quite a while, alternating possession, though I think the Slaty Skimmer, the larger of the two, held onto the branch for a longer period of time than the Swift Setwing.
I tried to capture them “buzzing” each other, but timing was really tricky and it was almost impossible to keep them both in focus. The second image below is my best effort in showing their interaction. I was low to the ground when I took the shot and really like the perspective with the sky in the background. If you look closely at the lower left corner of the second photo, you may notice that a long-jawed spider was also sharing the perch with the two dragonflies.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
A great series that was obviously hard to shoot. The spider would probably go unnoticed too. Very nice. 👏👏
I was half expecting this to turn into take a dragonfly to lunch !
This is what keeps us going outdoors!
Moments of calm interspersed with violent combat!
And, as a bonus, photobombed by a spider. Great stuff!
Interesting action, Mike. Observations like these leave me wondering what is special about that branch? Is it really better than one on the next tree, or is only because someone else has possession?
That second shot is stunning, Mike.
Oh, wow! These may be my favorites! Speaking as a twin…🙃😃
Mmmm I’m thinking more like the spider is contemplating a meal.. I love to get pictures of the dragonflies together whether it be different species or partners. Nice work. I am just using my lowly iphone.
It’s a bit more of a challenge to get shots of dragonflies with an iPhone but it can be done. Here’s a link to a video with some dragonfly footage that I filmed with my iPhone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhzVkt9lsS0
Also you mentioned they were fighting for possession so I’m not sure what without a video but I see then tagging each other all the time which seems to be more like for fun like when we play tag as the partners do it all the time also-so maybe 2 different behaviors?
It may have been the same behavior. It was not an outright battle, but I can see how you could interpret as a game of tag or perhaps “king of the hill. ” 🙂