Dragon Fly

[echogallery]

This guy settled in for a few moments. The wings seemed to only have "flesh" in the darkened areas, yet that was enough to give them lift when combined with their rate of flutter. Having more wing increases weight which would cause more energy to be required for flight. Natural efficiency I suppose. If anyone know's more about this insect, please fill us in.

Gary

Panasonic DMC-FZ30 / 340mm / f5.6 / 1/250 sec / Leica Elmarit

[rubidium]

Gary,
This looks like a male White-tail. An excellent article can be found at http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/wildlife...sel%20flies%22 . In fact, on page 4, figure 7, you can see a schetch of precisely the wing pattern you have captured in your photo.

In my experience photographing these insects (mostly in California), I found them to have a habit of cyclically darting off and returning to the exact same spot over the course of several minutes. Thus, if I noted one to settle on a leaf or twig or something, and then depart, I learned to be patient and continue to aim my camera at the exact same spot, await a return, and snap the shutter.
Cheers,
Jim

[echogallery]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the source for Dragonfly information. They've often facinated me, but this is the first time I had one linger long enough. He was not hovering above water but spent almost all of the time working in and around wood railroad type ties.

Gary