Tag Archives: Canon 100-400mm

Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly And Prey

An Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly perched on a leaf with a potential Mayfly snack on the underside.

Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly
Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly

A few minutes before I had watched another one of these damselflies chase a Mayfly. They both exhibited serious flying skills and that time the Mayfly prevailed. Here, I wondered if the damselfly knew the Mayfly was there.

Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly
Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly

Francis Beidler Forest, SC
April 7, 2023

Dragonfly and Shadow

A few dragonflies were perching on these giant leaves, which I believe are Powdery Alligator-flag.

The dragonfly, a Blue Dasher? I didn’t get a good enough image of his abdomen to see if there were stripes. The Great Blue Skimmer is described as “very large” … the Blue Dasher as “small.” Hmmm.

Dragonfly on Pondside Vegetation
Dragonfly on Pondside Vegetation
Dragonfly on Pondside Vegetation
Dragonfly with Very Large Shadow, on Powdery Alligator-flag Leaf
Dragonfly on Pondside Vegetation
Dragonfly on Pondside Vegetation

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 12, 2023

Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly, Open And Shut

If you wait long enough an Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly will open and close its wings.

Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly
Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly

Their outsized heads tend to make nice shadows in the right light.

Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly
Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly

Wings closed is their most common position when I have seen them.

Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly
Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly

They do chose some interesting leaves to land on, including this poison ivy.

Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly
Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly

Francis Beidler Forest, SC
March 31, 2023

Juvenile Blue Corporal Dragonfly

We’ve had some nights below freezing recently, and the day I took these didn’t get much above the mid 50s (10 C)  so I was surprised to see any dragonfly.

I spent some time with my “Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East” book and searching online. I did not even come up with Blue Corporal as a possibility.

Blue Corporal
Blue Corporal

The ID was provided by Odonata of the Eastern United States Facebook group, with one very confident ID as a Juvenile male Blue Corporal Dragonfly, with several  assents.

Blue Corporal
Blue Corporal

Audubon Center at Beidler Forest, Harleyville, SC
March 19, 2023

First Damselfly Images Of The Year

I had actually seen a pair of damselflies a week or so ago but couldn’t get any usable images.

Damselfly
Damselfly

I saw two of these at the edge of a small pond that was mostly in the shade except for a few blades of a reed where one stopped to eat his prey.

Damselfly With Fly
Damselfly With Fly

I don’t know the ID, they were quite small, maybe an inch or inch and a half ( 2.5 – 4 cm).

Damselfly With Fly
Damselfly With Fly

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
February 23, 2023