…fly, that is.
This morning when Eric and I went outside to plant some basil (yes, November is the start of herb-growing season here in south Florida), we noticed a dragonfly on the wall of the house that wasn’t moving very much. One of its wings was at an odd angle:
On closer inspection, it looked like this Blue Dasher (known to odonate enthusiasts as Pachydiplax longipennis) had sustained some kind of damage to the thorax; perhaps the little gal flew into a window or something:
Here’s a detail of that same shot:
The ichor on the thorax is what makes me think this is injury, rather than simply a problem that occurred during emergence. Most emergence problems result in a dragonfly that can’t fly at all, not one that has a perfectly fine-looking wing held at the wrong angle.
And as I’ve read, dragonflies can fly with only three wings. And this young lady proved it: after remaining patient through many close-ups for me, this little lady flew off and wasn’t seen again. But not before giving me the best photo of a dragonfly face I’ve gotten to date:
Hope you find her as beautiful as I do!
Ben, this is an incredible photo of her face! Just fantastic! Cece
Wow – love the face – incredible picture!