Macro

Damselfies & an Emperor Dragonfly

This Saturday and Sunday of the bank holiday weekend saw another visit to the local Blashford Lakes nature reserve primarily on the lookout for dragonflies and damselflies, after recently discovering it to be a reasonably decent venue for them. Both days proved productive, with all shown here found beside the path that runs behind the Education centre alongside Ellingham Lake, little was spotted on the other side of Ellingham Lake.

The highlight of the weekend was finding this freshly emerged Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator). A first for me.

Emperor Dragonfly
Emperor Dragonfly
Olympus OM-D EM-5 DSLR & Zuiko Olympus 90mm Macro F2 lens at F5.6

All of the damselflies I photographed over the 2 days were blue damselflies, in fact 2 different types if my identification is correct. If you are like me and need as much help as possible in identifying the different types then I highly recommend this blue damselfly ID page on this site.

1. The Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum), the first of which is having a snack.

Common Blue Damselfly feeding
Common Blue Damselfly feeding
Olympus OM-D EM-5 DSLR & Zuiko Olympus 90mm Macro F2 lens at F4

Common Blue Damselfly
Common Blue Damselfly
Olympus OM-D EM-5 DSLR & Zuiko Olympus 90mm Macro F2 lens at F4

Common Blue Damselfly (2)
Common Blue Damselfly (2)
Olympus OM-D EM-5 DSLR & Zuiko Olympus 90mm Macro F2 lens at F4

Common Blue Damselfly (3)
Common Blue Damselfly (3)
Olympus OM-D EM-5 DSLR & Zuiko Olympus 90mm Macro F2 lens at F4

2. The Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella), which features the coenagrion spur that is absent on the Common Blue.

Azure Damselfly
Azure Damselfly
Olympus OM-D EM-5 DSLR & Zuiko Olympus 90mm Macro F2 lens at F5.6

Azure Damselfly (2)
Azure Damselfly (2)
Olympus OM-D EM-5 DSLR & Zuiko Olympus 90mm Macro F2 lens at F4

There are also an abundance of Blue-tailed Damselflies (Ischnura elegans).

Blue-tailed Damselfly feeding
Blue-tailed Damselfly feeding
Olympus OM-D EM-5 DSLR & Zuiko Olympus 90mm Macro F2 lens at F4

Blue-tailed Damselfly
Blue-tailed Damselfly
Olympus OM-D EM-5 DSLR & Zuiko Olympus 90mm Macro F2 lens at F4

This Blue-tailed is a immature rufescens.

Immature rufescens Blue-tailed Damselfly
Immature rufescens Blue-tailed Damselfly
Olympus OM-D EM-5 DSLR & Zuiko Olympus 90mm Macro F2 lens at F4

Whereas this one is a immature infuscans.

Immature infuscans Blue-tailed Damselfly
Immature infuscans Blue-tailed Damselfly
Olympus OM-D EM-5 DSLR & Zuiko Olympus 90mm Macro F2 lens at F4

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Pete

I have been shooting nature with Olympus digital & Olympus OM camera gear on film since 2004

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