Every evening for a month or more we have had large darners cruising the yard. On some warm evenings a few weeks ago there were feeding swarms consisting of dozens to hundreds of individuals flying at top speed mainly within a few feet of the ground. As August has progressed the feeding swarms have disappeared but most evenings there are still always a few large dragonflies around dusk.
I have not figured out how to photograph or even identify these critters… they move very fast and never seem to perch.
I got my opportunity to do both on Sunday evening when Joan noticed a large dragonfly upside down on the top of the camper. Seeing a photo op, I quickly scooped it up and discovered that it was not quite dead as it moved very weakly in my hand.
After I made my photographs, I left the container in which I had placed the insect open outside on the deck table just in case it might recover. However, in the morning, it was still exactly where I had left it and now completely inert.
I am pretty sure that this is a male variable darner. I am not sure that this is the species that was swarming earlier in the summer, but it might well be.
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Frank, the enlarged species is quite detailed. Have you tried to change the background color from white to a gray? Even though the white presents the darner well, it is a large over-powering part of the image.
Comment by Nikon Joe — 5 September 2012 @ 8:03 AM