From beast to beauty (damselfly special)

By Paul Cecil | Published May 11, 2008

My previous entry ended with a photo of two of the pond's great predators side by side: a newt and a damselfly nymph. Today's entry reverses yesterday's theme and moves from the beast to the beauty. Or to put in another way: meet the damselfly. I'll start with the 'beast'.

Discarded nymph exuvia

Damselfly emerging.

Azure damselfly. Note the numerous discarded exuvia on the plant.

Large red damsels mating.

Close-up of female mating

Large reds again

The explosion in numbers this year is something of a surprise. In previous years I've seen the occasional damsel (and dragonfly) in the garden, but only sporadically. At one time today I counted 9 reds hovering over the pond, and in this next shot there are four azures (the rear two are out of focus).

Azure damselflies and exuvia

There are several more shots in the Damselfly album on my main site.

Camera note: photos 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 were taken with the Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG macro lens. Shots 2 and 7 were with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens. Some shots had either extension tubes or the 1.4 teleconverter added, and some used flash.

This entry was posted in damselfly, nymph and tagged .

8 Comments

  1. Vulpes vulpes May 11, 2008 at 1:05 am #

    Amazing pics – such detail!

  2. gdare May 11, 2008 at 6:05 am #

    Nice photos. Few years back there were a lot of dragonflies, I could see them everywhere, it was amazing. Before and after that year I have seen them only occasionally.

  3. Words May 11, 2008 at 8:05 am #

    Darko, it's strange this year. Everywhere has burst into life in the last week. The trees are suddenly covered in leaves, the flowers are blooming, and the insects are everywhere. It's like someone turned on a switch. A very sudden change. Nice though 🙂

  4. Words May 11, 2008 at 8:05 am #

    Thanks Vulpes.

  5. Ukwildlife May 11, 2008 at 9:05 am #

    Wow lovely. I havent seen any damsel or dragonflys since last weekend. fingers crossed for today 🙂

  6. Words May 11, 2008 at 9:05 am #

    Good luck Neil. I'm waiting for the local dewpond I visit to spring into life. Last year it was a spectacular spot for the larger dragonflies. It seems to lag slightly behind the garden pond (maybe because it's more exposed), but should attract plenty of chasers and darters.

  7. SittingFox May 11, 2008 at 10:05 am #

    Those really are amazing pictures! I'm very impressed. I haven't spotted any damselflies so far this year but I haven't really been looking for them. Agree about how everything has suddenly sprung into life. 🙂

  8. zetorres May 11, 2008 at 12:05 pm #

    Amazing macro photos, Words.

    Great work! 🙂