Mike Powell

I was thrilled last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge to  capture some images of Fine-lined Emerald dragonflies (Somatochlora filosa), a species for which I have been searching repeatedly this past month. Fine-lined Emeralds are one of several species that appear in the autumn, just as the number of most species of dragonflies is beginning to drop precipitously. I had spotted what I think were Fine-lined Emeralds several times earlier in September, but for me the sighting does not really “count” if I am not able to take a photograph.

Fine-lined Emeralds like to spend a lot of time patrolling, and a lesser amount of time perching. Unlike many of species that fly about high in the air, this species often flies at at somewhere between knee and eye-level, and that is how I usually first identify this species.

The dragonfly in the first photo appeared to be flying a patrol back-and-forth along a long stretch of one of the trails at the wildlife refuge. I stayed more or less in the same spot and over the course of a half hour or so, I watched and waited as the dragonfly zoomed by me. I was fortunate to track the dragonfly when it was flying and captured some shots when it occasionally perched vertically for a moment or two. The big challenge for me was focusing on the dragonfly’s thin body—my camera’s auto-focus had trouble acquiring focus, so I had to rely on manual focusing, which is a bit difficult with a digital camera.

Later in the day I spotted the dragonfly in the second photo, what appears to be a different male Fine-lined Emerald. It perched in the same, hanging from the vegetation in the same way as the earlier dragonfly. This dragonfly’s abdomen seemed to be a bit scuffed for reasons that were not readily apparent.

I encourage you to click on the photos to get a closer look at this elusive dragonfly species that the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website describes as, “One of Northern Virginia’s most rare dragonflies, possibly our rarest, this species is seldom seen and little known throughout its range, from New Jersey to Florida, and west to Kentucky and Texas.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.