Friday, October 10, 2008

Black Saddlebags Dragonfly


Yesterday, I was admiring a Butterfly Bush at The Garden Gate, when this unusual creature landed right in front of me.


I scoured the Internet for some time last night (I can get like a dog with a bone when I'm researching something) until I finally identified it as a Black Saddlebags Dragonfly.


My photos do not do justice to its delicate iridescent wings and color, but it surely made my day to see the beauty of this special Dragonfly so close.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Dragon flies are always interesting, the royalty of the insect world if you ask me. It's interesting how they are always out in droves after a tropical storm or hurricane passes. Have you ever notices that? Really great photos!

Barrier Island Girl said...

I actually had not noticed (that they are plentiful after a tropical storm or hurricane) - generally because we have a lot of clean-up to do on the island after a storm passes even a couple of hundred miles south of us. We shovel sand, wash salt off windows and hose down other surfaces, pick up branches and palm fronds and other salt-burned plants, etc.

I am definitely grateful for dragonflies after a storm due to the increased mosquito population. It can get bad, especially if you live near wetlands.

We had a cool morning yesterday and I'm thinking that may be what kept this fella still enough for me to photograph. I've tried to photograph other dragonflies in the past, but never been successful. Then again, the problem may be my patience. ;-)

Thanks, Robert.

DJ