Home»All Photographs»Nature photography folders»Dragonflies (Odonates)

Since I started taking pictures of insects and spiders, one group of my favorite subjects have been the dragonflies and their close kin the damselflies. I recently realized that I had over 400 such pictures (and I have probably discarded several times that number).

I have now tried to organize that, to capture some of the diversity and beauty of these creatures. These pictures summarize approximately twenty species, and some of the interesting aspects of their anatomy and behavior. The basis for this is the book by Dennis Paulson "Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East" supplemented by various information gleaned from the internet. Though I believe the species identifications are correct, it's not always easy and I may have slipped up in a few cases.

Most of the dragonflies were photographed in our yard here in Canton; those from other areas are generally identified to their site of origin.