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Archive for the ‘Insects’ Category

Bee and Bee Balm

Posted in Bees, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 13, 2022| 7 Comments »

I love the way that this acrobatic bee was able to position its antennae for optimized access to the nectar in this bee balm flower last Friday at Green Spring Gardens. The bee was so focused on the flower that it paid me no attention, allowing me to get really close to it to capture this image.

I believe that the bee is an Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica). As for the flower, there was quite a variety of flowers in different colors that looked like this one. I think that it is a type of bee balm (g. Monarda), though I really do not know flowers very well.

bee

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Cabbage White in July

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 12, 2022| 4 Comments »

I love the simple beauty of Cabbage White butterflies (Pieris rapae). They are mostly white with a few touches of black, but if you get a close-up look, you discover that they have stunningly speckled green eyes. Cabbage Whites, in my experience, tend to be pretty skittish and do not stay in one place for very long. If you were to track my movements, you would probably discover that I spend a good amount of time chasing after these little beauties.

Last Friday I was able to capture these images of a Cabbage White butterfly as it flitted about some pretty purple flowers at Green Spring Gardens. The first shot is my clear favorite of the three thanks to its saturated colors, out-of-focus background, and interesting composition. The other two images, however, are interesting in their own ways, showing a more dynamic view of the butterfly at work.

I am not a gardener, so I tend to view this butterfly almost exclusively from the perspective of its beauty—the same is true with invasive species of animals and insects. I fully recognize that this butterfly is considered to be an agricultural pest and can cause damage to crops, but that, in my eyes, does not diminish its beauty.

Cabbage White

Cabbage White

Cabbage White

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Insect interaction

Posted in Bees, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, Water Lilies, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 11, 2022| 9 Comments »

I am always fascinated by interactions between species. It is impossible to know exactly what is going on in the minds of the participants, but sometimes the behavior is one of curiosity, co-existence, or confrontation.

As I was preparing to photograph a pretty pink water lily at Green Spring Gardens last Friday, a honey bee flew into the frame. The bee dove right into the center of the flower, so I waited for it to emerge and continued to watch through the viewfinder of my camera.

I was just getting ready to finally take a shot when suddenly a small hover fly flew into the frame. I timed it right and managed to captured this image when the hover fly was right above the honey bee.

The hover fly seemed to be on a reconnaissance mission and the honey bee seemed to be telling him to buzz off. Somehow the posture of the bee reminded me of that of a policeman at the scene of a crime as he repeatedly tells onlookers, “Move along, there is nothing to see here.” Was this a confrontation? I don’t think that it rose to that level, but it was clear to me (and probably to the hover fly) that the bee did not want to share his golden treasure with anyone else.

water lily

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Orange Bluet (Male)

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 10, 2022| 3 Comments »

I love the distinctive coloration of Orange Bluet damselflies (Enallagma signatum), whose name always causes me to smile at the apparent oxymoron. How can a bluet be orange? As the name “bluet” suggests, most of the 35 members of the genus American Bluet (Enallagma), the largest damselfly genus in North America, are blue. However, certain species come in other colors including red, orange, and green and the Rainbow Bluet combines red, yellow, and green.

I spotted this handsome male Orange Bluet last Wednesday as he was perching on a lily pad in a small pond at Green Spring Gardens. He posed beautifully for me and I was able to capture quite a few details of this little damselfly. I recommend that you click on the image to get a closer look at this Orange Blue, including his wonderful orange markings.

Orange Bluet

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eastern Amberwing dragonflies

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 9, 2022| 6 Comments »

Eastern Amberwings (Perithemis tenera) are very small dragonflies, with an overall length of no more than one inch (25 mm). Males of this species are easy to identify because of their amber-colored wings. Males are quite common and I ofter see them buzzing around the edges of the ponds that I visit. Females have brown patches on their clearer wings and often hunt far from the water, so I do not see them very often.

Despite their small size, Eastern Amberwings are one of the easiest dragonflies to photograph in flight. They often hover low, close to the water surface near the shore, which gives me a fighting chance to focus on them. It requires a steady hand and quick reactions, but the first two images show the kind of results you can get. The second shot is a little quirky, but I like the way that it shows two male Amberwings passing each other, flying in opposite directions.

The final shot is an “artsy” shot of a perched Amberwing. The dragonfly was flying among the lotus flowers last Wednesday at Green Spring Gardens and perched for a moment on a lotus leaf that had not yet unfurled. I tried to compose the image so that the viewer gets a sense of the habitat, which gives the shot a completely different feel from the first two photos in which the subjects are completely separated from their environment.

Eastern Amberwing

Eastern Amberwing

Eastern Amberwing

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Ten Year Blog Anniversary

Posted in Blogging, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 7, 2022| 33 Comments »

Ten years ago today I started this blog. After reviewing some of my photos from earlier that fateful day, my dear friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer told me I needed a blog. I was a little skeptical, but we sat down at a computer and she helped me to set up this blog. I could not come up with a cute or creative name, so I simply called it “Mike Powell—My journey through photography.”

My first posting was a modest one that showcased a single photo of a Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis). In case you are curious, here is a link to that first posting that was entitled “Blue Dasher dragonfly.”

I figured that my blog would be primarily a place to display my photos. I rapidly realized, however, that I enjoyed expressing myself with my words as much as with my images. My postings are often a direct reflection of my thoughts or feelings at the very moments when I am composing the post. I do not compose them in advance, so my postings sometimes ramble around a bit, but I have found that many of my readers enjoy this conversational, stream-of-consciousness style.

According to WordPress statistics, I have done 4462 postings, with almost three hundred sixty thousand total views. I have written most of these postings myself, though occasionally I have reblogged the postings of others. My favorite subjects over the years have been insects and birds, but I have also done postings on a wide range of other topics including animals, travel, poetry, and painting.

Today it seemed appropriate to post a photo of a male Blue Dasher—the dragonfly that started it all—that I photographed yesterday at Green Spring Gardens, a local, county-run historical garden. When I was starting to get more serious about photography ten years ago, Cindy and I would often photograph flowers and insects at this garden.

I owe a special debt of gratitude to Cindy for the initial push to start this blog and for her continued encouragement and inspiration. However, I am equally indebted to so many readers who have provided thoughtful comments, support, and motivation as we have made this journey together. Thanks to all of you—I could not have done it without you.

Blue Dasher

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Cyrano Darner dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 6, 2022| 11 Comments »

It is fairly uncommon for me to see a Cyrano Darner dragonfly (Nasiaeschna pentacantha), so when I do, I try my best to get a shot of it. The problem, though, is that they always seem to be patrolling over the water far from the shore and rarely seem to perch.

Last Wednesday I spotted this Cyrano Darner flying around a heavily vegetated area, which made it even tougher to focus on the dragonfly. I was thrilled to be able to get a recognizable shot of the dragonfly, though the background is so cluttered that you may have to look hard to see it in the first image. The second image is a little less sharp, but gives you a clearer view of the dragonfly.

In case you are curious, the species is named for its long, protruding, greenish forehead that is somewhat reminiscent of the long nose of literary character Cyrano de Bergerac. This is the only species that I have encountered where the “nose” helps me to identify it—most of the time I focus on other parts of a dragonfly’s anatomy.

Cyrano Darner

Cyrano Darner

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Rust and amber

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 4, 2022| 7 Comments »

I generally prefer to photograph dragonflies on natural perches, not on manmade ones. However, whenever I visit Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge I always check a piece of rebar that sticks out of the water of Mulligan Pond near one of the fishing platforms, because I have found that dragonflies love this photogenic perch.

Last Wednesday, I spotted a male Eastern Amberwing dragonfly (Perithemis tenera) perched on the rebar. It flew away as I approached, but I waited patiently and it eventually returned. I tried a number of different approaches in framing my shots, taking advantage of the changing background caused by the movement of the brownish waters of the pond.

I love the contrast between the colors, patterns, and textures of the natural object, the dragonfly, and those of the man-made subject, the rebar. The muddy waters of the pond provide a mostly uniform background color that really complements the amber and rust tones of the primary subjects.

Eastern Amberwing

Eastern Amberwing

Eastern Amberwing

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Swift Setwing

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 3, 2022| 4 Comments »

Each summer season I look forward to photographing Swift Setwing dragonflies (Dythemis velox) at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. These little dragonflies perch in a distinctive pose with their wings pulled forward, which looked to some scientist like the “ready-set-go” position of a sprinter and is reportedly the reason for the name of the species. One of my fellow photographers recently posted some photos of the species in Facebook, prompting me to set out last Wednesday to see if I could find some of them myself.

Six years ago I spotted my first Swift Setwing dragonfly at this same location. This primarily southern species had never before have been documented in Fairfax County, Virginia, the county where I live, so it is kind of special for me to see them each year. (You can see details of that first sighting in my 25 June 2016 posting Swift Setwing dragonfly.)

Members of this species like to perch at the very tip of vegetation overhanging the water and almost always face the water. It can therefore be quite a challenge to get profile shots and almost impossible to get the kind of head-on shots that I love to take.

I had a number of encounters with Swift Setwings and tried a variety of compositions to capture images of these cool little dragonflies. My favorite shot is probably the first one—I really like the way that the colors of the dragonfly’s head are mirrored in the colors of the berries in the background.

Swift Setwing

Swift Setwing

Swift Setwing

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Damselfly Sisyphus

Posted in damselfly, fantasy, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on July 1, 2022| 3 Comments »

On Wednesday I spotted this aptly-named Blue-tipped Dancer damselfly (Argia tibialis) while I was exploring a small stream at Jackson Miles Wetland Refuge. This was my first sighting of this species this season, so I was really happy to see it.

Unlike most damselflies, this one was content to perch on the rocks in the stream bed rather than on the nearby vegetation. That meant that I too had to descend to water level for me to get a shot.

When I took the image, I remember that I liked the way that the damselfly was perching at the edge of a large rock and I carefully composed the shot to include the entirety of the rock. As I was adjusting the image this morning, however, it suddenly struck me that the damselfly looked like it was trying to push the rock aside, which would clearly be an impossible task.

I immediately thought of the story of Sisyphus. According to Greek mythology, Zeus punished Sisyphus for cheating death twice by forcing him to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll down every time it neared the top, repeating this action for eternity.

I obviously have an overly active imagination when I start making these kinds of strange connections early in the morning. but it is fun sometimes to just let my creative mind run freely. I never know where these flights of fancy will take me, but the final destinations are often quirky. So, can you too imagine my little damselfly as an insect Sisyphus?

Blue-tipped Dancer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Great Blue Skimmer dragonflies

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 28, 2022| 12 Comments »

The calendar and the temperatures both tell me that we have entered into the long, hot, lazy days of summer. Here in the Washington D.C. area, where I live, that often means a lot of humidity too. Some days it can be a bit of a challenge to motivate myself to go out into the wild with my camera.

However, many dragonflies seem to love this kind of weather and the fields and ponds are abuzz with dragonfly activity. One of our common species is the Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans). This past week I noticed a sharp increase in their numbers as I wandered the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Great Blue Skimmers have stunning blue eyes and white faces, which help to distinguish them from similar species. The Great Blue Skimmer in the first photo, which looks to be a young male, was cooperative and let me get quite close to him to get this close-up view of his head. Dragonflies of this species seem to have a pronounced overbite, which gives them a goofy grin that I find endearing.

I think that the dragonfly in the second shot is a female Great Blue Skimmer. Several dragonfly species share the same black and yellow coloration and pattern for juveniles and for females, so it can often be a real challenge to make a definitive identification. Fortunately, the differences among the species become more pronounced as the dragonflies mature.

 

Great Blue Skimmer

Great Blue Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Halloween Pennant in June

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 27, 2022| 9 Comments »

I was excited last Monday to spot this Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina), one of my favorite dragonflies, as I was exploring a small pond in Fairfax County. I especially love the beautiful patterns on its wings and the way that it perches on the very tip of flimsy vegetation, causing it to flutter in the slightest breeze, like a pennant.

Halloween Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Red Milkweed Beetle

Posted in Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 26, 2022| 7 Comments »

I noticed on Friday that quite a few milkweed plants are now in bloom at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Hopefully they will attract some Monarch butterflies. In the meantime, I was happy to see this Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus) with its cool “longhorn” antennae.

Over ten years ago, I encountered these strange-looking insects for the first time and was utterly fascinated by their appearance. That fascination has not diminished over time. Milkweed plants are amazing hosts to a wonderful variety of insects and it is always fun to examine them closely.

I was a pretty good distance away from this beetle, so I was not able to get a close-up shot of it, so settled for a shot that included a bit of the milkweed. I really like the resulting image, a reminder to myself that the primary subject does not necessarily have to fill the frame for a photo to be effective.

If you want a better view of a Red Milkweed Beetle, check out my June 2013 posting entitled “Red Milkweed Beetle—he’s back.”

Red Milkweek Beetle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Needham’s Skimmers

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 25, 2022| 2 Comments »

Numerous Needham’s Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula needhami)) have recently emerged at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Yay! I just love the golden leading edges on the wings of this species. Male Needham’s Skimmers eventually turn reddish-orange in color, but initially have the same yellow and black coloration as the females.

In the first shot, I was thrilled to photograph a beautiful female as she perched on some colorful Eastern Gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides).  I cannot identify very many plants, but this one is distinctive enough that it has stuck in my memory. I love the expression on the dragonfly’s face–she seems to be either smiling at me or sticking out her tongue at me.

The Needham’s Skimmer in the second image also seems to be smiling. I think that it is a male, but cannot be certain from this angle of view.

Have a wonderful weekend. Needham's Skimmer

Needham's Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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A pop of color

Posted in Bees, Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged , , , , , , , on June 24, 2022| 5 Comments »

We have had rain and clouds the last few days and I feel the need for a pop of color today. This blanket flower (g. Gaillardia) provided a wonderfully colorful backdrop for a little bee that I spotted during a recent trip to Green Spring Gardens. I think that it may be some kind of sweat bee, but I did not get a close enough look at it to be able identify it.

bee

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Eastern Forktail damselfly

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 21, 2022| 11 Comments »

As I was visiting a small pond at Green Spring Gardens last week, checking to see if the lotus flowers and water lilies were in bloom, I detected some movement at the edge of the water. It took me a moment to spot some tiny Eastern Forktail damselflies (Ischnura verticalis) that were buzzing around the vegetation sticking out of the water. Eastern Forktails are quite small, about 0.8-1.3 inches (20-33 mm) in length.

I got down as low as I could and captured several images of a beautiful female Eastern Forktail. In the first shot, she perched and posed for me, so I had the luxury of carefully composing my shot. Click on the photo to see the wonderful details of this damselfly, including her stunning two-toned eyes. Eastern Forktails are quite small, about 0.8-1.3 inches (20-33 mm) in length.)

In the second shot, she was perching on the edge of a lily pad with the tip of her abdomen in the water. She was in the process of depositing eggs into the bottom of the lily pad or possibly into the stem of the plant.

As it turned out, it is still too early for the lotus flowers to bloom, though the plants were producing lots of leaves. There was one white water lily that was blooming, so the scene at the pond does not yet remind me of a Monet painting.

Eastern Forktail

Eastern Forktail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Some more dancers

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 19, 2022| 8 Comments »

Recently I did a posting featuring a beautiful Violet Dancer (Argia fumipennis violacea), the uniquely purple damselfly that is featured in the banner of my blog. Today I thought that I would give equal time to several of the other dancers in my life. Damselflies in the genus Argia are known by the whimsical name of dancers, because of the distinctive jerky form of flight they use which contrasts with the straightforward direct flight of bluets, forktails, and other pond damselflies.

The damselfly in the first photo is a male Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta) that I spotted perched on a rock in the water while I was exploring a stream in Prince William County. I can tell that this is a rather young male, because he still has a lot of color on his thorax. Mature males turn whitish in color—you can see the powdery coating beginning at the tip of its abdomen.

The next two photos show a male Blue-fronted Dancer (Argia tibialis) that I found in the vegetation next to a small pond at Jackson Miles Abbot Wetland Refuge. This species is quite distinctive because the thorax is almost completely blue, with only hairline black stripes on its shoulders and the middle of its back.

One of the things that I particularly enjoy about photographing nature is the incredible diversity that I encounter. Even within a single species, I can spot unique beauty in each individual that I encounter, especially when I slow down and look closely. The same thing is true about people—we should celebrate and respect our diversity and engage with people who may look or act or think differently. As the Lee Ann Womack country music song says, if you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.

 

Powdered Dancer

Blue-fronted Dancer

Blue-fronted Dancer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sable Clubtails

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 18, 2022| 15 Comments »

There has been a recent explosion of dragonflies in my area. Yesterday was a hot, humid day and I encountered hundreds of dragonflies as I walked along the trails of one of my favorite wildlife park. They were almost all relatively common species, including Common Whitetails, Needham’s Skimmers, Eastern Pondhawks, and Great Blue Skimmers. These dragonflies thrive in a variety of habitats, are numerous, and are easy to see.

Some of the rarest dragonflies in our area, however, are quite muted in their appearance, like these male Sable Clubtail dragonflies (Stenogomphurus rogersi). Sable Clubtails are generally found only in very small numbers, have a short flight period, and require very specific habitats,—this species prefers small, clean forest streams. This past two weeks I have spent hours exploring a stream in Fairfax County in Virginia, the county in which I live, and spotted a grand total of two Sable Clubtails.

As you can see from the first photo, my most recent sighting, Sable Clubtails like to perch flat on leafy vegetation, just above the level of the stream. They are often in shadowy areas and are incredibly skittish, so it is tough to get a good shot of a Sable Clubtail.

The dragonfly in the second and third photo was initially spotted by a fellow dragonfly enthusiast a little over a week ago. I was upstream from him (and had not noticed that he was there) when he called out to me and informed me that he had spotted a Sable Clubtail. I hurried over in the direction of his voice and photographed the dragonfly in the middle photo. I was able to capture the markings of the Sable Clubtail by shooting almost directly downwards, but the sunlight produced harsh specular highlights.

As I crouched to get a better angle, I spooked the dragonfly.  Fortunately it flew only a few feet away and perched higher on a leaf in a slightly shaded area, which let me capture the third shot before it flew away.

I don’t know if I will see another Sable Clubtail this season, but it was gratifying to be able to have two encounters with this uncommon species. Habitats are fragile and changeable, so I never know from year to year if one of these low-density species will reappear or not. At this location, I have been blessed to photograph a Sable Clubtail for three of the last four years. I’ll probably check it out at least another couple of times before I call it quits for this species for the season.

Sable Clubtail

Sable Clubtail

Sable Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Turquoise Bluet

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , on June 15, 2022| 16 Comments »

Last week I was excited to capture this image of a beautiful Turquoise Bluet damselfly (Enallagma divagans) as I explored the edge of a small pond in Prince William County, Virginia. The damselfly was conducting short patrols over the water and then would perch on the vegetation sticking out of the water.

I got low to the ground and squatted as close to the water’s edge as I dared, doing my best to avoid falling into the water as I leaned forward. I managed to stay dry as I waited patiently. Eventually the Turquoise Bluet perched within range of my lens and I was able to capture a pretty detailed image of the little bluet, which was about 1.4 inches (35 mm) in length.

Turquoise Bluet

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Widow Skimmer dragonflies (male)

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 15, 2022| 5 Comments »

I love dragonflies with patterned wings and one of the coolest ones in our area is the male Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa), which has a distinctive combination of one dark and one white blotch per wing. Eventually the immature male in the first photo will turn bluish in color, but for now he has the brown and yellow colors that he shares with the females. The females have only a single large blotch on each wing, so usually I can tell the genders apart.

When the male first emerges, however, the white blotches may be hard to see, so I have to look more closely at other aspects of the dragonfly’s body. I am pretty confident that the dragonfly in the second photo is a very young male Widow Skimmer.

It was really easy to track a male Widow Skimmer dragonfly in the air, because its colorful wings made it look almost like a butterfly. However, the dragonfly in the first photo was remarkably skittish and would perch only momentarily in between its patrols over the waters of the small pond that I visited on Monday. Eventually my patience paid off and I was able to get a shot, albeit from a relatively long distance away.

Widow Skimmer

Widow Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Mating Ebony Jewelwings

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 14, 2022| 6 Comments »

When damselflies mate, it is often a very conspicuous event, easily recognized by the heart-shaped “wheel” formation of the mating couple. The male clasps the female by the back of her head and she curls her abdomen to pick up sperm from secondary genitalia at the base of the male’s abdomen. That’s about as graphic as I dare go in describing the process.

Yesterday I spotted a pair of mating Ebony Jewelwing damselflies (Calopteryx maculata) as I was exploring a stream in Fairfax County, Virginia, the county in which I live. Ebony Jewelwings are immediately identifiable, because they are the only damselflies in our area with dark wings. They can be found at a wide variety of running waters, especially at shaded forest streams, like the one where I found this couple.

Male Ebony Jewelwings have wings that are all black, while females have dark brown wings with conspicuous white pseudostigmas—the male is on the right in this photos. The body of the males is a metallic green with copper highlights—in certain lights, their bodies may look distinctly blue. Females seem to have a bit more color variation, though it is hard to tell their true color because of the reflected light from their shiny bodies.

Ebony Jewelwing

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Violet Dancer

Posted in damselfly, Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 13, 2022| 17 Comments »

One of the coolest, most colorful damselflies in our area is the violet subspecies of the Variable Dancer (Argia fumipennis) that is often called the Violet Dancer (Argia fumipennis violacea). I spotted these handsome male damselflies last Thursday in Prince William County and love the way I was able to capture some of the texture of their environment, especially in the first photo.

Some of you may have noticed that I have had a photo of a Violet Dancer as the banner for this blog for quite a number of years. This coloration of this damselfly is so strikingly different from the various shades of blue of most damselflies that it made an immediate impression on me the first time that I photographed one.

I need to update many aspects of my blog page format, including the information in the “About Me” section, but I am still pretty comfortable with having a Violet Dancer being the first image that viewers see when they access my page.

Variable Dancer

Variable Dancer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Lancet Clubtail

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on June 12, 2022| 9 Comments »

I was delighted to spot this female Lancet Clubtail dragonfly (Phanogomphus exilis) on Thursday in Prince William County, the first member of this species that I have seen this season. She seemed to be glancing upwards at me as she smiled and posed for me.

When I was doing some research on this species, I got a little confused, because sometimes the Latin name for the species was given as Phanogomphus exilis and sometimes as Gomphus exilis. As far as I can understand it, the Lancet Clubtail used to be included in Gomphus genus. However, according to Wikipedia, “As a result of phylogenetic studies, Gomphus subgenera Gomphurus, Hylogomphus, Phanogomphus, and Stenogomphus were elevated in rank to genus in 2017. With the removal of their member species, Gomphus ended up with 11 of its previous 54 species, none of which are found in the Western Hemisphere.” Yikes!

Lancet Clubtail

Lancet Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dot-tailed Whiteface dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, Travel, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 8, 2022| 9 Comments »

One of the cool things about traveling is having the chance to see species that are not present in my home area. This past weekend I drove north about 600 miles (965 km) to Gill, Massachusetts, the home of Northfield Mt Hermon School, where I celebrated my 50th graduation from high school. There was plenty of wild life at the reunion, with loud music, firepits, and adult beverages, but I also managed to squeeze in a few quieter moments with wildlife.

While I was walking along the edge of Shadow Lake, a small marshy lake on campus, I spotted some unfamiliar dragonflies on the floating lily pads. As I examined the dragonflies through my 55-250mm telephoto lens, the longest lens that I had with me, I was struck by the bright white faces of the dragonflies and the prominent dots on the top of their abdomens. I was a little shocked to learn later that the dragonflies that I photographed are Dot-tailed Whiteface dragonflies (Leucorrhinia intacta)—rarely has the name of a species fit so well.

The range map for Dot-tailed Whitefaces shows that it is primarily a northern species that does not exist in Virginia. I get the impression that this is a fairly common species, so locals would probably not be very excited to spot one. For me, though, it was a rare and exotic species that I was seeing for the very first time and I was thrilled. It is amazing how our reactions in so many areas of our lives are influenced as much by our perspectives as by the “objective” facts of a situation.

Dot-tailed Whiteface

Dot-tailed Whiteface

Dot-tailed Whiteface

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Bar-winged Skimmer dragonflies

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on June 7, 2022| 6 Comments »

Last Tuesday I spotted several beautiful Bar-winged Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula axilena) while I was exploring a small pond in Prince William County, Virginia. The dragonflies kept choosing beautiful, but flimsy perches, so I did not have much time snag shots of them before they flew away.

According to the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, Bar-winged Skimmers have relatively specific habitat needs and consequently are one of the less common skimmers in our area. “It prefers very shallow marshy pools in the full sun. If there’s enough water for fish, it’s too deep for Bar-winged Skimmers. And of course shallow pools in the full sun tend to quickly evaporate and dry up, so stable populations in Northern Virginia are few and far between.”

I really like the backgrounds that I was able to capture in these shots—they are colorful, but not at all distracting. If you look closely at the leading edges of the wings, you can see the black spots and stripes that give rise to the name of this species.

Bar-winged Skimmer

Bar-winged Skimmer

Bar-winged Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Gray Petaltail dragonflies

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on June 6, 2022| 5 Comments »

Although “treehugger” is a term that is sometimes used for environmentalists, it is even more applicable to Gray Petaltail dragonflies (Tachopteryx thoreyi), like these ones that I spotted last Tuesday in Prince William County. Gray Petaltails love to perch on the trunks of trees, where they blend in almost perfectly with the bark, as you can see especially well (or almost not see) in the second photo.

I have been told that Gray Petaltails especially like the color gray and a number of times one has perched on me when I was deliberately wearing a gray shirt. Fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford capture that phenomenon in 2019 in one of his blog postings that he called “You look like a tree to me!”

I drove up to Massachusetts this past weekend for the celebration of my 50th high school reunion at Northfield Mount Heron School, the private college preparatory boarding school that I attended for three years. I disconnected from the internet during that time there, which is why I have not posted in several days—my apologies to those of you who may be used to a daily “fix.”

It was fascinating to reconnect with high school friends, often for the first time in 50 years, and to meet some classmates for the first time. Northfield was founded as a girls school in 1879 by evangelist Dwight L. Moody and two years he established Mount Hermon as a boy school. In 1971 the two schools formally merged and those of us in the class of 1972, my class, were the first to graduate from Northfield Mount Hermon School. At that time there were close to 1300 students divided between the two campuses, which made it difficult to know everyone—in recent years the school consolidated onto the Mount Hermon campus and it currently has a student body of about 700 students.

Gray Petaltail

Gray Petaltail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Brown Spiketail (male)

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on June 2, 2022| 11 Comments »

On Tuesday I was thrilled to spot this male Brown Spiketail dragonfly (Cordulegaster bilineata) while I was exploring a marshy area in Prince William County, Virginia. Spiketail dragonflies are quite rare in our area and this was the first one that I have spotted this year.

Brown Spiketails are found only in a specific type of habitat. According to the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, Brown Spiketails prefer “clean, small, sunlit, forest streams and seepages” and “perch often and low on grasses and shrubs in clearings, meadow edges and sunny forest edges.” As you can see from the background in these two images, the location where I found this dragonfly was full of ferns.

In case you are curious, spiketail dragonflies are so named because the long ovipositor of the female extends beyond the tip of the abdomen. The females lay their eggs by hovering over shallow water and driving the long ovipositor vertically into the shoreline mud or stream bottom in a fashion reminiscent of a sewing machine. Since these photos show a male, there is no “spike” to see for this spiketail.

I love the striking eyes of this dragonfly and the colorful markings his entire body and was happy to be able to capture such a detailed look at his beauty.

 

Brown Spiketail

Brown Spiketail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Spangled Skimmer dragonflies

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on May 30, 2022| 6 Comments »

On Saturday I spotted my first Spangled Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula cyanea) of the year at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It is remarkable easy to identify this species, because it is the only dragonfly in our area that has both black and white stigmata.

The stigmata, or pterostigmata, which is the more technical name, are the pigmented hollow structures on the leading edge of dragonfly wings. They are slightly heavier than the adjoining cells and have a significant effect on the aerodynamics of the wing, particularly while gliding, according to an article entitled “Dragonfly wings: tried and tested over millennia!” I confess that I don’t understand aerodynamics at all and look at dragonfly flight as nothing short of miraculous.

You may have noted that all the dragonflies in all three photos look pretty much the same, but the first two are male and the third is a female. Mature males are blue in color, but when they are young, the immature males share the brown and yellow coloration of the females. The easiest way to tell them apart is to look at the tip of the abdomen (the “tail”)—the terminal appendages of the two genders are quite different in appearance.

Spangled Skimmer

Spangled Skimmer

Spangled Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First Monarch of the spring

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on May 29, 2022| 5 Comments »

I was a bit surprised and absolutely delighted to see my first Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) of the year yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I love to see these colorful butterflies, but each year it is a bit of a hit-or-miss proposition, as habitats for Monarchs continue to be threatened and their numbers seem to be declining.

Monarch butterfly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Big Bluet damselflies

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on May 27, 2022| 2 Comments »

I am finally starting to see many of the common species of dragonflies and damselflies that will keep me company through the long hot days of the summer. On Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I spotted my first Big Bluet damselflies (Enallagma durum) of the season, including the mating pair shown in the first photo below. This sidewards heart position, sometimes referred to as the “wheel position,” is quite distinctive and reminds me of something you might see in a Cirque du Soleil production.

American bluets are the largest genus of damselflies in North America and are often the most familiar and numerous damselflies that people see. As the genus name Bluet suggests, most members of this genus have bright blue coloration in various patterns, although I have also photographed Orange Bluets, which sounds like a contradiction in terms.

During the summer, I often see Big Bluets along the trails adjacent to the water at this wildlife refuge. As damselflies go, Big Bluets are comparatively large at 1.3- 1.7 inches (34 – 44 mm) in length. Big Bluets have elongated, arrow-shaped black markings on their abdomens, as  you can see in the second photo below, and this helps in distinguishing them from other bluets.

Damselfly identification is challenging under the best of all circumstances and even in this case, when I was fairly confident about my identification, I sought confirmation in a Facebook dragonfly group.

 

Big Bluet

Big Bluet

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Silver-spotted Skipper in May

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on May 21, 2022| 2 Comments »

Although I enjoy photographing large, colorful butterflies, like the Zebra Swallowtail that I featured in a recent posting, I also love to photograph smaller, more nondescript butterflies. I spotted this pretty little Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) during a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and chased it about as it gathered nectar from several early spring wildflowers.

There are over 3500 species of skipper butterflies worldwide, according to Wikipedia, and the Silver-spotted Skipper is one of the few that I can reliably identify. Many of the others that I see are so similar in appearance that I have to pore over identification guides to try to figure out what kind they are. Often I end up guessing and am wrong just about as often as I am right in identifying a skipper.

Silver-spotted Skipper

Silver-spotted Skipper

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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