Catching Some Afternoon Rays
MacroImages

by

Don Schwartz

Catching Some Afternoon Rays
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Catching Some Afternoon Rays
A dragonfly rests in the reeds alongside Buck Lake in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. A dragonfly is an insect belonging to the order Odonata. It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body. Dragonflies can sometimes be mistaken for damselflies, which are morphologically similar; however, adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most dragonflies are held away from, and perpendicular to, the body when at rest. Dragonflies possess six legs (like any other insect), but most of them cannot walk well. Dragonflies are among the fastest flying insects in the world. Dragonflies are important predators that eat mosquitoes, and other small insects like flies, bees, ants, wasps, and very rarely butterflies. They are usually found around marshes, lakes, ponds, streams, and wetlands because their larvae, known as "nymphs", are aquatic. Some 5680 different species of dragonflies (Odonata) are known in the world today. Though dragonflies are predators, they themselves are subject to predation by birds, lizards, frogs, spiders, fish, water bugs, and even other large dragonflies.
NickYoungArt
NickYoungArt ::
July 26, 2013
Excellent capture, Don.

boppintheblues
boppintheblues ::
July 27, 2013
Thanks Nick.