Did you think my interest in odonates would wane over the long, cruel, odonateless winter?
Of course not. It is a strong interest. Obsession would mean that I have ODONATE on my license plate or something like that. When the DMV sends me my new plates, then we’ll call it an obsession.
So there were a few dragonflies out and about, but they were not perching much and were not in the mood to be photographed. They were in the mood for eating and for scaring away other dragonflies. They’re sorta turfy this time of year, keeping rivals out of their area in elaborate mini dogfights that I would love to see in super slo-mo.
Damsels, on the other hand, were perching quite nicely as the wind was more than a puff here and there, and damselflies are poor fliers in general, so they were hiding on the lee side of the grasses and keeping still. It’s easy to spot an paradoxically-named Orange Bluet (Enallagma signatum). The males are a little brighter…these are males.
A few feet away I found a Stream Bluet (Enallagma exulans). Exulans means cast out or wandering. Wonder what he did to get kicked out. My guess is that it just means they’re all over the place. Like Canis domesticus goldenretrieverii. They’ve taken over Mad town.
Anyway…Stream Bluets and Orange Bluets made my lunch hour (20 minutes) pretty memorable. It’s the sign of things to come. Common Green Darners and some Pondhawks were making their rounds but my lens and autofocus were way out-gunned. So I just enjoyed the Enallagma twins.
Until more odonates show up,
Canoelover
I really wish that I could send Luke your way. Why oh why did we have to leave Madison? Luke could badger (no Wisconsin pun intended) with all his questions.
Luke can come visit when he's a little older…I'll wear him out with birds and insects. Leave the mammals to someone else. 🙂