Seeing IS Believing

Dennis Paulson's Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East told me that Great Spreadwings (fall flyers) oviposit quite high, something I'd not have really known had I not seen it myself.

Just above Abbo's Alley's small stream, two Shadow Darners flew and fought, hovering and slapping, zooming up and out and back again. Finally, one remained when the other moved upstream. 

Snapping again and again to get one focused shot, I suddenly saw a mating pair of Greats on a leaf the darner punched.

Then the pair flew straight into my face and shot upwards, into a tree. 

Extending and retracting my zoom, I got my shots and later posted them on the Southeastern Odes Facebook group page. Almost immediately, another expert (Ed Lam) "liked" one of my photographs, exciting me almost as much as my good luck.

It's so good to be truly home, to be truly walking, to be watching odonates again.

Facebook to the Rescue

A puzzlement.

A dark female dragonfly in full sun. Grasses and waist-high weeds all round. A curiously lumpish abdomen.

What the heck? I thought, dismissing my initial evaluation of Common Baskettail.

For a day, I thought, This could be a county record! Maybe it's a Sundragon!

Finally, after posting to one of my Odonate Facebook groups in the morning, an answer arrived from an expert, Ed Lam: "Female abdomen shape can be quite variable as the female matures and develops eggs."

Once, and once only, I heard and saw a Baskettail drop all her eggs in the water, and I thought of my mother singing "A tisket, a tasket, a brown and yellow basket."

Exactly.

Apprenticeship

When I first started photographing bugs, my friend J would help me on occasion, but she didn't walk with me.

G walked with me, but he didn't know bugs. He did know cameras and photography, so his knowledge came in handy.

Mostly, though I have walked alone, and I have found books on my own, and I  have read them alone, and I have studied my photos alone. As my friend S told me, I have taught myself a lot of biology in the last three years.

But then I found the dragonfly/damselfy groups on Facebook, and now I have companions. What a gold mine!

First, I have felt better about my own knowledge since many others know much much less than I.

Second, I have marveled at the different Odonates folks see in their yards. Those in Florida have enjoyed scads of Halloween Pennants this summer, for example, and I have seen only a few.

Third, a famous person -- Ed Lam -- is a member of the groups, and he is generous with his comments, advice, and support. If someone asks a question, he will answer it. Sometimes he posts his drawings and asks us to ID them. 

Just tonight, I posted that I may have been wrong about photos I put up the other day. Three hours at Lake Dimmick today seriously confused me when I found two totally different looking males of the same species -- the Little Blue Dragonlet. He confirmed that I was right the first time and then gave me specific information I can use in the field.

Both of these dragonflies are Little Blue Dragonlets. They sure look different, don't they?

Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats learning under the tutelage of a master.