Red dragonfly (mating photo added)

[MacroLuv]

Should be Crocothemis erythraea but not 100% sure.
I saw many of them but all of them were red, even both from the mating pairs. (The females must be of orange / yellow colour?)





Model Canon EOS 450D
Date/time original 27.6.2008 12:58:41
Shutter speed value 1/256 s
Aperture value f/4
ISO speed ratings ISO 200
Focal length 100 mm



Model Canon EOS 450D
Date/time original 27.6.2008 13:00:42
Shutter speed value 1/395 s
Aperture value f/4
ISO speed ratings ISO 200
Focal length 100 mm



Model Canon EOS 450D
Date/time original 27.6.2008 13:06:52
Shutter speed value 1/197 s
Aperture value f/7
ISO speed ratings ISO 400
Focal length 100 mm

[puzzledpaul]

Nice shots, Nikola - and you're a lucky blighter too, as I've not seen any this year yet - let alone get this close (assuming uncropped).

... and never seen any this colour ...

pp

[MacroLuv]

Thanks Paul.
The images are cropped just for get a litttle better composition, but I haven't problems to get very close to the most of them. (Unless they are not too far above the lake.)

[Michigan Michael]

Nikola, these are very nice. I especially like the 3rd photo.

[MacroLuv]

Thanks Michael.
The background from the third photo comes from brown sludgy pond shore, and on the second photo, from green pond surface.

[Erland R.N.]

Sure you got the species right. The female is brownish coloured.
One other thing, you also got the images right
Maybe you actually saw a male trying to mate another male, it happens quite often in some species. But a bit strange for a species like this, where male and female colours are quite different, at least to the human eye.

Erland

[MacroLuv]

Thanks Erland.
As I've been noticed they mate very shortly, only a few seconds, so you must be lucky to catch them. After that the female cruises above the pond touching the surface with hers tail several times. (Laying the eggs, I suppose.)

[beetleman]

What a beautiful red color. great images Nikola. You upgraded your 400D already?

[MacroLuv]

What a beautiful red color. great images Nikola. You upgraded your 400D already?

Yep , see my comments here. To buy some lens would be probably smarter idea.

Here is mating photo for Erland. As I said before, mating lasts only few seconds, so this is the best I managed.



Model Canon EOS 450D
Date/time original 26.6.2008 13:35:24
Shutter speed value 1/790 s
Aperture value f/7
ISO speed ratings ISO 200
Focal length 100 mm

[P_T]

Those are really nice photos, I like the second one the best. Looks like it's a very sunny day there... I'm jealous.

I can't wait for winter to finish, not much to photograph at this time of year, specially since it's been unusually cold in Sydney.

[g4lab]

Very nice photos.
A few days ago there was a veritable feeding frenzy of largish dragonflies around my house. They were orangey and brownish. They were feeding like crazy. Zillions of them. Of course I didn't have a camera handy. And they weren't landing they were chasing mosquitos or whatever they were feasting on.

But it seems it was just that one instant. No trace of them anymore.
No real water around my house to speak of either. There is a creek and it has been raining like crazy all year. so maybe thats where they came from.
I live in St. Louis in the middle of the midwest USA.

[Erland R.N.]

Nice catching the mating wheel. It does get even harder, try taking a photo of Libellula depressa during mating. It last a few seconds, maybe nearly 10 if you're lucky, and the ydo not land

g4lab, I'm convinced that what you've experienced was migrating dragonflies. They can move over long distances in great numbers.
It seems to me that migrating dragonflies are more often seen in USA, compared to Europe. At least you have species that do it regulary each year up along the east coast.

Erland