The Eyes Have It!!

One of the neatest components of dragonfly anatomy is their eyes. Depending on the species, each eye may have several thousand to perhaps more than 10,000 individual lenses. No wonder they are so adept at avoiding my attempts to catch them with my net! I would guess that it is not known whether or not their brains integrate the view from these many lenses into one image or if they see multiple images that aid them in tracking and catching the other insects that they pray upon.

They eyes are very large and totally dominates their "faces". In damselflies, the eyes are separated and "barbell" like in form like on this Sedge Sprite.The eyes of most dragonfly species as - opposed to damsels - almost touch each other on the top of the head as in this White-faced Meadowhawk. Color ranges from dark brown - almost black - on some species to almost a rainbow of colors on others like this Rainbow Bluet. My favorites eyes of all of the different groups of dragonflies are the "Emeralds". There is no doubt how this group got its name. The extent of the emerald color seems to depend on the angle at which the eyes are viewed. That beautiful green color is visible even when they are flying nearby. When they are newly emerged, eye color seems to be a duller, more "milky" color as with this female Mountain Emerald. The Emerald group, however, does not have a monopoly on beautiful green eyes as is evident in this Gilded River Cruiser. If you click on this image to enlarge it, you can see the pattern of the many tiny lenses. So the next time you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to view or photograph one of these fascinating insects, take a good look at the eyes. They are truly amazing and colorful organs!

In Pursuit of Damsels!

Damselflies that is! And, of course, their cousins - the Dragonflies - are also included in this passion of mine. For the past 5-6 weeks, I have been derelict in keeping up with this blogging routine. Great summer weather here in Montana is the primary reason for that. These beautiful insects like warmth and sun and we didn't get much of that here until late June. So there have been very few days since then that I have not been out pursuing these "bugs".

In the previous several years that I have been active in this pursuit, I have concentrated on dragonflies, which are larger and more easily identified. But this year, I decided to spend more time catching and photographing damsels. And the rewards of this decision will become obvious when you see their great colors and beauty in the following images.

This Rainbow Bluet is well named, with a great variety of colors. And an Emerald Spreadwing sports sports a front of beautiful green.The Powdered Dancer was first discovered in Montana last summer by Odonate expert and friend Nate Kohler.Sedge Sprites are the tiniest of Montana's damselflies but still quite colorful.American Rubyspots are fairly common on Eastern Montana prairie streams. And that really is a ruby red at the wing base.My favorite species of damsel, and one that I viewed in Montana for the first time this year, are the River Jewelwings. That green iridescence is is really something.If you look closely at the "mouth" area of this one, you can see the remaining parts of a very small Mayfly that it is chowing down on. Please remember that you can click on each photo to enlarge it.