Sunday 15 November 2015

A 'Big' Emperor Dragonfly Nymph

I spent an hour out today in gale force winds at a site near Reculver trying to find various species of dragonfly and damselfly to collect and photograph in my indoor tank. I had already prepared the tank for when I returned home and this time, I put in some pre soaked leaves that had gone brown to try to give a more natural colour and backround. At the site I managed to collect a few Emperor Dragonfly with most returned except for a 40mm individual which I thought I would photograph. I also managed to catch lots of damselfly nymphs, mostly Azure Damselfly I think along with a few Common Blue Damselfly. What I was surprised about after looking on the internet was the complete lack of Small Red eyed Damselfly nymphs to be seen and this is also a species I have yet to find as a nymph. After finding out a few identification features for this species which does occur at the site, I checked likely nymphs but drew a blank with this but I hope to at some point be able to find and photograph this seemingly not photographed a lot nymph. I suspect next year a few weeks prior to their emergence will give me the best chance. Back at home and I spent a while in the warm conservatory taking a number of photos of the Emperor Dragonfly nymph. Normally they shoot all around the tank but this individual seemed quite happy to pose on the leaves and gave me some of my best shots of this species to date and a chance to study this large nymph up close. I also photographed a nice 'stripy' Emperor Dragonfly nymph which I shall post later in the week all being well.







Emperor Dragonfly Nymph (40mm)

14 comments:

  1. Beautifully intimidating or intimidatingly beautiful? The detail is stunning, especially the head-on view of the mouthparts. Pond creatures beware!

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    1. Many thanks Wilma. I like to think all the practice has been rewarded here. Really pleased with this set.

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  2. Oh yes, you have made through photographic means, they are superb Marc.

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    1. Thanks Bob. Some of my clearest nymphs shots to date I think.

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  3. Fantastic these details. I am impressed!
    Regards,
    Roos

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  4. These are your best Nymph images yet Marc. That top one id perfect! :-)

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    1. Thanks Warren. I tried hard with these and I think the effort paid off.

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  5. Not bad for a P.E. instructor,I think you're in the wrong business.

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    1. Thanks Mike. I totally agree
      I am in the wrong job. How I would love to do this photography as a job.

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  6. Cracking set of images Marc, the detail is superb...[;o)

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    1. Many thanks, some of my better efforts I hope.

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  7. Mark.
    Nice pics, very unusual, never seen one before.

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    1. Thanks Ken. Thats part of the fun. Exposing these iften ynseen larvae that we don't normally get to see.

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