This is amazing! My first really good picture of a dragonfly. I came over this way not expecting much. I was just going to take a few pictures of the Boardwalk Trail. You can see it pretty clearly from here, but you can't get to it. This is a place down below the Scenic Overlook. I haven't seen anything too exciting on the nature trails for a couple of days, so when I came this way I was kind of surprised. I noticed on the flowering plants here that there were about half a dozen bumble bees. I didn't want to pass up a chance to get a few pictures of these. I finished that and started taking the pictures I set out to get. Then this guy flew right in front of me. Usually when that happens they keep right on going, but this one landed on a plant right in front of me and stayed. Almost like it was begging me to take it's picture.
A dragonfly is a type of insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera. It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, and an elongated body. Dragonflies are similar to damselflies, but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most dragonflies are held away from, and perpendicular to, the body when at rest.
Dragonflies typically eat mosquitoes, and other small insects like flies, bees, ants and butterflies. They are therefore valued as predators, since they help control populations of harmful insects. Dragonflies are usually found around lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands because their larvae, known as "nymphs", are aquatic. Adult dragonflies do not bite or sting humans, though nymphs are capable of delivering a painful (though otherwise harmless) bite.
When I see something like this I know I'm having a great everyday adventure. Don't you wish you could too?
The red really stands out. I wonder if it's red for danger? :-)
ReplyDeleteI remember once spending half an hour chasing dragonflies hoping to take a picture. I finally got a photo, but unfortunately I could identify what species I'd seen :-(
John - Even with the information I gave in the post, I don't know much about dragonflies yet. I wasn't a very good researcher yet when I wrote it. I'm looking forward to giving it another shot this year though. I'll be chasing these dragonflies around too when I see them.
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