A butterfly harassing a dragonfly in it's
territory!
Warning! This post is not for sensitive viewers!
They say that one needs a special high speed camera to catch a dragonfly eating his prey, But I hope that the photos here will convince you that it can be done with an ordinary camera.
When this one landed, I thought that there was something abnormal about him and that his head was damaged in a fight with another drag. But a great surprise was waiting for me.
Come and have a look!
See? There was an insect in his mouth!
I zoomed to get a better view, while at the same time switching to the "Macro" setting!
Whaw! A big and fat insect that he had here!
Just look at this drag chewing away!
At the same time he looks happy with his catch!
Almost done eating as he was preparing to swallow!
Down it all goes into his stomach!
Done! Lunch is over in about 15 seconds or less.
Finally, just to show you how the drags like my zigzag tree in the afternoon sun.
Here's some more information for you!
"14 Fun Facts About Dragonflies"
"By Sarah Zielinski
smithsonian.com
October 5, 2011"
"Flying insects are usually annoying. Mosquitoes bite you, leaving itchy red welts. Bees and wasps sting. Flies are just disgusting. But there’s something magical about dragonflies".
"1 ) Dragonflies were some of the first winged insects to evolve, some 300 million years ago. Modern dragonflies have wingspans of only two to five inches, but fossil dragonflies have been found with wingspans of up to two feet".
"7 ) Dragonflies catch their insect prey by grabbing it with their feet. They’re so efficient in their hunting that, in one Harvard University study, the dragonflies caught 90 to 95 percent of the prey released into their enclosure".
"8 ) The flight of the dragonfly is so special that it has inspired engineers who dream of making robots that fly like dragonflies".
Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/14-fun-facts-about-dragonflies-96882693/
I have only placed some highlights here and you can read the rest by visiting the link above!
Note: All photos and photo descriptions are my own and the sections at the end of the post, marked by inverted commas ("") was duly cited!
We hope that you have enjoyed the photos and thank you for visiting a post by @papilloncharity
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I love insects!
dragon fly are beautiful and cool!
That's very interesting pictures, rare one scene!
Thank you for sharing!😃
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Thank you my friend, we share the love for nature.
Glad that you liked the dragonfly.
I was lucky with all of the pictures.
My pleasure to share them.
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WOW awesome shots :) and your camera and you do magic for sure :)
I so wanted to catch one with prey JJ, but it's nigh impossible.
They made some videos of them eating in captivity, but I wanted to get a wild one.
Yes, it was over in seconds and I couldn't even think about a video, as I had my hands full with the switch over to macro and the zoom, but at least I got him and that's what matters to me.
Glad you liked it and thank you for the magic words my friend!
Maybe next time you wil be able to catch a video, but these shots are brilliant, and considerign inthe wold even more impressive
Thank you JJ and one can only try my friend.
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Yes thats all we can do :)
Dragonflies have to eat too! I like your zig zag tree too!
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Thank you and I was just careful, as you know what people are like.
That zig zag tree has travelled with us from way up north and I am so glad to see that the tree likes it here so far south.
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More beautiful close-up nature photography, always a pleasure to see, nice little factoids at the end too.
Thank you and I am glad that you liked the post my friend.
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Your photos are always outstanding! Holy cow I love the sequence of the dragonfly eating the fly, but my fave is the zig zag tree! Lovely. Love the dragonfly info too. Great post.
Thank you my friend and I love that zig zag tree.
I brought it with us all of the way from the north and had to leave it at the apple farm while we were searching for a place to stay.
The frost numbed its tips at the farm, but now that we have it here, it is slowly recuperating.
Glad that you liked the post.
Blessings and thank you for the kind words!
What a great shot to catch the dragonfly with his lunch. They are great for catching and eating flies and mosquitoes, especially since the bats have declined here with the white nose syndrome disease killing them.
I hate it when these viruses decimate the animals Lady Jo.
Just this morning we were looking at a little wagtail that lost both of its feet, hopping around on little stumps. Some virus is attacking their feet.
We are indeed so glad that the dragonflies like our little garden, as do many other animals.
Sad to hear about your bats.
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wow beautiful macro photographs of dragonfly. nice observation. 1st photograph is looks like race between dragonfly vs butterfly.
Hahaha, no my friend, the butterfly was trying to chase the dragonfly away.
Glad that you liked the shots!
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Blessings!Thank you for the love and care that you share with your PHC community members @jaynie
Wow sir papilloncharity, stunning pictures! Never saw anything like that!
Thank you my friend and just a lucky catch.
At the right place at the right time as they say.
Blessings!
Incredible photos, @papilloncharity! Wow, I’m blown away by these! Thanks for sharing the great info too. Cracks me up that engineers are trying to imitate nature, but it’s true. I’m seeing that a lot in my line of work.
Thank you Lady Jayna and I was so lucky to get the shots.
I think that the engineers are justifying it by saying that there's no need to re-invent the wheel Lol.
What line of work would you be in?
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Yes, exactly. They want to re-create the perfection of nature — which does have some practical applications! I am in high tech marketing. My company is in the “internet of things” space.
Well all that I can say is that nature is a very good teacher my friend.
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