Like a spy did I creep and stealth, and I finally (Finally!) captured close-up shots of a dragonfly in my garden. Let’s just say it’s been a rather frustrating frustration of mine that the little boogers would never sit still long enough for me to get a decent photo.
But today I summoned all my powers of camouflage (well, I did have on a green shirt), resurrected my seldom-used skills of painstakingly slow movements, instantaneously froze into a well-blended-in statue when I felt big little dragonfly eyes studying me, and — snap! — took a picture. Repeat. Repeatedly.
I’m quite confident that this dragonfly is a Roseate Skimmer. Eventually the pretty skimmer got used to my weird stalking behavior and let me get fairly close. If it got worried, it darted away for about a second and landed back again. One of the cool things about getting to take lots of photos of this guy was getting to watch how it tilts its head as it’s looking around.
I find it interesting that the damselflies linger around the pond far more than the dragonflies do. The dragonflies like to perch on branches, rocks, broken sticks, and the top of the cattle panel I use to keep the dogs off some seedlings. I don’t ever see them just resting around the pond.
The damselflies, on the other hand, find the pond their favorite resting spot, be it on lily pads, Horsetail, or the surrounding limestone. Here’s where my confidence in IDing the little but mighty predators goes to nill, other than to call them damselflies because their wings align with their body at rest.
Is it a Bluet? A Dancer? I found many blue and black striped damselflies species photos, but I couldn’t narrow down the exact one to match mine.
Well, I’ll go out on a limb and declare this last one a Desert Firetail. And by little, I mean tiny. About an inch long. Despite its bright red coloring, it is hard to spot. My camera did not want to focus on it. It loved resting on the Horsetail in particular.
So there you have it. I get to officially check “get a photo of a dragonfly (and damselfly)” off my list. I feel so accomplished.
By the way, I’ve added a few resources to my sidebar that I sometimes use for IDing or learning about wildlife species I encounter. In this case, I used OdontataCentral. It doesn’t mean that IDing is ever easy, mind you!
Your patience and stealth paid off with some great shots of the damselflies. They are great fun to study up close, with such vivid colours, wing details, and those giant eyes.
Aren’t they beautiful? I think damsels are underappreciated, given how much attention the larger dragonflies often get. I’m going to need to get a book to help me tell them all apart though — the Internet searching was a challenge!
Meredith,
You are right the dragonfly is a male Roseate Skimmer. I have a photo being published in a book soon, It was a Roseate Skimmer I found on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, the first ever found in VA. Your damselfly is a dancer, it might be a Variable Dancer, they have darker wings than other damselflies, around here they can be a dark amber. The Firetail I think you are right, but I have no experience with them.
Do you have John Abbott’s book Dragonflies and Damselflies of Texas and the South Central United States? I have a copy as I donates a couple of photos for the book. The book has excellent coverage in your area.
Very nice, Randy — thanks for all the info. I’ll definitely have to look for that book. It might be the same one I borrowed from a friend awhile back, but as I returned it already, I’ll have to check again. Clearly I must have my own copy!
We know how hard they are to capture. Wonderful photos!
As always, outstanding photographs and identification! You are one good stalker. Thanks for more ID references: I’ve got a caterpillar I’ve never seen before. I’ve checked every reference I can find, but will see if yours have some insight on my larkspur chomper.
Send me a pic! I’d love to try to help. Of course, some of the moth caterpillars are soooooo hard to identify — hopefully your caterpillar has some distinguishing features!
Great photos, Meredith. I was stalking dragonflies this weekend too, but I didn’t see any reds or oranges this time, only blues. Ironically, the dragonflies were most active around the pond and bird bath, chasing and battling over territory, while the damselflies, many of which were mating, hung out by the pool.
We had the red flame skimmer (that might not be the actual name, as I didn’t look it up just now) visit today, and we have always have the dragonflies with the clear and black wings around. I’m now noticing that the damselflies come in all sorts of colors. So now I’m eager to stalk the insects for more photos! I guess you just end up wanting more photos after you get the first ones, haha. .
Okey doke, I’ll send you a picture. Also, have to say Gah too (re bottlebrush “event”). I’d finally given up on my potted bougainvilla and got a cleome for that pot instead. I pulled out the bougainvillea and there was tiny growth on it. Gah! Next year, I’ll just get another bougainvillea. The cleome needs water every other day, while the bougain was once a week.