Yesterday, I spent about 90 minutes in the late afternoon down in the swamp at the back of our property. I went specifically to look for the male spreadwings that would “match” the females which have been common in the woods for the past few weeks.
Often, the males of a species will head back to the water (where mating and ovipositing will take place) earlier than the females. Thus, having seen only females in the woods, I thought that maybe the males would be at the pond in the swamp. I thought incorrectly since there were no spreadwings at all and essentially no damsels of any kind. I photographed one male damsel and caught a glimpse of a second; that was it.
There were small numbers of large dragonflies (darners of some sort) cruising their territories above the pond and the meadow. However, as usual, I saw none perched.
Along the margins of the swamp (where meadow meets woods) I found a number (may a dozen total) of autumn meadowhawks of both sexes.
In between odes, I discovered (and photographed) two different types of grasshoppers.
Lastly, I found two groups of asters in bloom… a sure sign that fall is on the way.
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Grasshopper #2 has great color and detail – however, the out of focus foreground keeps drawing my interest there. The Autumn Meadowhawks are “classic Frank Gorga!”
Comment by Nikon Joe — 5 September 2012 @ 8:07 AM