Tag Archives: Dragonfly

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

Dragonfly, Perched on a Vine

Two years ago fellow blogger and dragonfly enthusiast Mike Powell (https://michaelqpowell.com/) identified a similar sighting of mine as “probably a juvenile female Great Blue Skimmer.”

Dragonfly
Dragonfly

I’m not much further along identifying dragonflies than I was then, especially females and juveniles.

Dragonfly
Dragonfly

I do like to photograph them even if I don’t know what they are, and liked the three different background options this one gave me.

Dragonfly
Dragonfly

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 30, 2023

Dragonfly Emergence

I had never seen a dragonfly emerge and was pretty surprised to see this at my eye height. The emergence process was nearly over when I passed by. The dragonfly was likely waiting for his wings to harden and he didn’t move at all for the two or three minutes I watched.

Emerging Dragonfly
Emerging Dragonfly –Look close to see strands attaching the thorax to the exuvia

Audubon Center at Beidler Forest, Harleyville, SC
March 30, 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

Needham’s Skimmer

This Needham’s Skimmer was perched close to the ground and out of the breeze, a nice fit for using the Tamron 180mm macro lens.

Needham’s Skimmer
Needham’s Skimmer

The angle and background worked well to pick up the orange tones.

Needham’s Skimmer
Needham’s Skimmer

He didn’t move far between these shots, trying out some different perches almost like a model.

Needham’s Skimmer
Needham’s Skimmer

Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
September 14, 2022

Common Baskettail Above My Head

There were a lot of these Baskettails zooming over a dike between two ponds, presumably feeding.

Common Baskettail
Common Baskettail

This reed stalk was the highest vegetation around with the top coveted perch well above my head.

Common Baskettail
Common Baskettail

Backlit by the sun, you can see numerous tears in the wings.

Common Baskettail
Common Baskettail

Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
September 14, 2022

 

Four-spotted Pennants on Chinese Tallow

Chinese Tallow, also known as Popcorn Tree, is an  invasive species that crowds out native vegetation and is notoriously hard to get rid of. These trees have been treated but you can see from the sprouting vegetation are not dead.

Four-spotted Pennants on Chinese Tallow
Four-spotted Pennants on Chinese Tallow

These dragonflies found the “popcorn” seeds to be good perches.

Four-spotted Pennants on Chinese Tallow
Four-spotted Pennants on Chinese Tallow
Four-spotted Pennants on Chinese Tallow
Four-spotted Pennants on Chinese Tallow

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
September 19, 2022