Thursday 16 August 2012

Darters








Two quite similar darter species of dragonfly are the Common Darter and the Ruddy Darter. They are both found in good numbers at Maxey gravel pits, where the above photos were taken.

The Common Darter is in the first 4 photos, the first 2 are of a female (I think) and the other 2 are of the male. The last photo of the Common Darter shows how similar it is to the male Ruddy Darter, which is in the next photo. The Ruddy Darter is told apart by the waisted blood red abdomen and the all black legs, both features that the Common Darter doesn't have.

The flight season of these two dragonflies can last until late Autumn, even after the first frosts, it is lack of food that eventually kills these beasts rather than cold nights.

16 comments:

  1. Hi John..."What big eyes you have" lol!!
    Great images of the darters..I find them very interesting creatures!!
    I spent 2 hours,which I realize after I had gone through,what seemed like thousands of photos on a couple of website, to come up without a ID on the one I saw in the back yard GRRRRR!
    Have a good weekend!
    Grace

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    1. Hi Grace,
      That is just typical and sounds extremely familiar! Still, it's better to be sure than sorry.
      J

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  2. Greetings John,
    Wow, awesome photos of those dragonflies. Coincidentally, earlier today, a huge dragonfly swooped nearby us. It scared the heck out of my son :)
    All the best to you.
    Gary

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    Replies
    1. Hi Gary,
      Thank you. Tell your son not to worry, these dragons don't breathe fire, not too often anyway! ;)
      J

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  3. Great photos John! Nice comparison of the two species; they are very similar!

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    1. Hi Tammy,
      Thank you, yes very similar, especially when they are flying around at extreme speed!
      J

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  4. I am beginning to learn as much about Dragonflies as birds thanks to this blog. The first picture is superb and what a contrast to the Osprey from 600 metres away!
    Click here for Bazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

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    1. Thank Bazza,
      Glad I can be of some use. A bit of a contrast, a few inches as opposed to several hundred metres!
      J

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  5. Very nice John. Love these. On Facebook, there is a new page, where you can share Dragonflies, and Damselflies. Brand new, and very nice to learn to~

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    1. Thanks Mary,
      I am not on Facebook, so don't know if I can look at this or not?! One of the few who aren't on there!
      J

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  6. Yes there are certainly quite a few Darters about now John.

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    1. There certainly are Roy, even had about a dozen in our garden over the weekend, just the common ones though.
      J

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  7. I captured a few images myself today... these are fantastic.

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    1. Thanks Andrew, as are yours, I am sure.
      J

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  8. Lovely photos John. The first is a real cracker. I find the two types quite confusing!

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    1. Thanks Jan,
      Yes, I think all darters, especially the female ones are superficially very similar, but practice makes perfect I suppose!
      J

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Thank you for taking the time to comment on my humble blog.