Monday, July 23, 2007

Dragons and Damsels from the Olentangy

I have always been fascinated by dragonflies, but it has only been recently, primarily due to expert Larry Rosche, that I have fully appreciated the diversity of these creatures.

The weekend before last, I managed to photograph several species in and around the Olentangy River, just a short walk from my house.



First up we have a female American rubyspot, common along the Olentangy and many rivers throughout Ohio.
 


Next is a mated pair, the male more colorful, of blue ringed dancers.
 



Yet another mated pair of damselflies, this time the violet or variable dancer. Notice the purple coloration on the male's abdomen.
 



And finally, a dragon that initially stumped me at first, turned out to be a male eastern pondhawk. I'm use to seeing the grass green females, and the males look quite different but are still quite attractive. Interestingly, a mated pair of powdered dancers didn't seem phased by the pondhawk, even though pondhawks are know to eat other dragonflies!
 
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1 comment:

  1. Hey Tommy, I'm amazed you found time to blog! We've been going ninety miles an hour- super busy! :-)

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