People think you have to travel far to find interesting subjects for nature photography. That’s not true. In this case, I wanted to test a new video recorder monitor and simply took my gear out into the backyard and spent a few minutes filming a male blue dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) dragonfly.
The blue dasher, technically a skimmer, is one of the most common dragonflies in North America. Their favorite perches are on plants leaning over slow-moving or calm water like my small backyard pond.
The blue dasher hunts by keeping still, waiting for flying insects to come close by. When an unsuspecting insect does, the blue dasher will suddenly dart from its position to catch it. Blue dashers are voracious eaters, consuming hundreds of small insects a day.
In the video, you will notice the blue dasher in what is known as the obelisk posture where it raises its abdomen vertically. It is believed this posture is a response to heat.
The coolest thing though in my short time watching the dragonfly was seeing its abdomen pulsate with each breath it took. I thought that was pretty amazing.
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