Tag Archives: dusky dancer (Argia translata)

More dragons of the lake

Drought has created a dearth of insects this year.  The cicada-killer wasp colony that surrounds my home normally fills the air with nearly a hundred flying giants; this year perhaps 15 or 20 of the insects came to life: a repercussion of the lack of cicadas last year.  My patio for years has hosted dozens of millipedes each day; not so this year.  The lack of bees, ants, spiders, grasshoppers and all manner of small critters makes me fear for the ripple effect this will have on the rest of the food chain.

Yet I have been lucky enough to find some signs of life in that tiny world arachnids and insects call home.  And where I’ve been unable to scratch that itch with what is, I’ve been able to dredge up what was from the photo archives.  (I’ll admit I’m making a concerted effort to clear out the flood of images I’ve collected that haven’t found a home.  Otherwise they get swept into the dustbin to make room for new collections.)

So here’s another sampling of dragonflies from White Rock Lake.  There are more to come, sure, and reaching back years means not all will be of the best quality.  But oh well…

Atlantic bluet (Enallagma doubledayi) perched on grass seed (20080921_12564)

Atlantic bluet (Enallagma doubledayi)

Western forktail (Ischnura perparva) perched on a dry reed (2009_03_08_012977)

Western forktail (Ischnura perparva)

Blue-ringed dancer (Argia sedula) perched on a blade of grass (2009_07_07_026222)

Blue-ringed dancer (Argia sedula)

Swift setwing (Dythemis velox) perched on a dry twig (2009_07_07_026187)

Swift setwing (Dythemis velox)

Halloween pennant (Celithemis eponina) perched on a grass stalk (2009_07_06_026100)

Halloween pennant (Celithemis eponina)

Dusky dancer (Argia translata) perched on the end of a blade of grass (2009_07_07_026148)

Dusky dancer (Argia translata)