Return to moorhen home page
Return to section index
Image-of-the-Day by Subject
Dragonflies & Damselflies Page 30
Image Taken on 01 Sep 2010
at 11:17 Image of day on 27 Oct 2010
Despite the poor weather the brief periods of sunshine brought out a few
dragonflies. They are getting a bit tatty now following encounters
with blackberry thorns etc., but worth a few outdoor images on-the-wing.
It is really only possible when they hover for a moment - here two
frames about 150mS apart as he drifted forward a little.
(r+mb id@891).jpg)
Ref: 20101027_dc1_20100901_1117_013+014 southern hawker dragonfly mature male hovering 1+2 of 2 (horizontally accurate montage @7fps)(r+mb id@891).jpg
Image Taken on 09 Sep 2009
at 17:14 Image of day on 19 Oct 2009
We saw this pair of Southern Hawker dragonflies land in this
'Wheel' configuration in a willow behind duck pond and spend
63 minutes hanging on there being blown around in the wind before
finally parting in two stages.
The male is at the top using his tail clasper to hold the female
behind the head. She brings her vulva opening up to the male to
pick up the sperm.
They were very determined - the wind was blowing them about from
this position to almost horizontal.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20091019_db1_20090909_1714_121 southern hawker dragonfly pair mating in willow behind duck pond & parting after 1 hr 19 of 36 (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 09 Sep 2009
at 17:39 Image of day on 19 Oct 2009
About 3 minutes before separating she has had enough and drops
into 'tandem'. Some species then go on to lay eggs in this
configuration, but not these.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20091019_db1_20090909_1739_157 southern hawker dragonfly pair mating in willow behind duck pond & parting after 1 hr 25 of 36 (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 09 Sep 2009
at 17:44 Image of day on 19 Oct 2009
The moment of separation probably and she flew off we know not
where. He flew off a few minutes later
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20091019_db1_20090909_1744_179 southern hawker dragonfly pair mating in willow behind duck pond & parting after 1 hr 33 of 36 (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 22 Jul 2008
at 16:26 Image of day on 06 Aug 2008
This is a Hawker dragonfly - the largest type. In the words of
an old TV documentary we saw a couple of weeks ago, it will kill
and eat 'anything smaller than itself'! Our experts differ on
whether this is a male or female.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20080806_da1_20080722_1626_029 southern hawker dragonfly sex unsure (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 22 Jul 2008
at 16:24 Image of day on 06 Aug 2008
Here is the powerful mouth and segmented eyes.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20080806_da1_20080722_1624_011 southern hawker dragonfly sex unsure (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 29 Sep 2012
at 13:10 Image of day on 09 Nov 2012
The male Southern Hawker Dragonflies continue to patrol the pond
in search of females. Here one is taking a rest in the sunshine
on an otherwise cold day, hanging from the seed heads of one of
the types of Mallow.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20121109_df1_20120929_1310_064 southern hawker male dragonfly hanging from mallow seed head (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 03 Jul 2020
at 12:58 Image of day on 09 Aug 2020
The first sighting here (in 30 years) of a White-legged Damselfly.
This is an immature female flitting around the grass seed heads like a
little delicate ghost.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20200809_df3_20200703_1258_019 white-legged damselfly female immature (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 24 Jul 2007
at 15:04 Image of day on 19 Aug 2007
This a mid-sized pair of dragonflies in the 'wheel' position in
which they mate. The male is the red insect on the top clasping the
female by the neck. They can actually fly coupled like this.
.jpg)
Ref: 20070819_d10_20070724_1504_045 yellow-winged darter dragonflies in wheel position(r+mb id@576).jpg
Comments and requests for image use
To make a comment, ask for information or to request a full
resolution image, send us an email including the reference or
the date for the image you are interested in.
All initial contacts should be made using the icon below:-