Ever hunted Dragonflies before?

I decided to return to the wetlands where I found the dark blue last week and this time I got lucky again! This mister looks like a "Jaunty Dropwing" Still a youngster as you can see the yellow markings starting to emerge! Later on in the season many of the other kinds of Dragonflies will also start to appear and eventually by April the place will be turned into a circus of zooming colors.
Let the photos speak to their beauty!

This one is known as the "Broad Scarlet" and believe me they are so fast that they can disappear in the same way as the "Scarlet Pimpernel"

And so, I have placed two photos of each Dragonfly species and hope you have enjoyed them! Allow me to say that last year (2017) one of my Dragonflies was selected and published in a USA Wildlife Magazine!
The little fellows are crafty fliers and if I may share a trick with you, never let your shadow fall on them when you stalk them for a photo! Always face them with the sun in front of you!

Some amazing facts; Dragonflies can trace their lineage to 300 million years ago! They predate Dinosaurs by 100 million years and birds by 150 million years! The count of Dragonfly species in the world numbers 5,952 (2013) and they were of the very first "animals to evolve to the power of flight" (Dragonflies and Damselflies of South Africa ISBN 978-1-77584-184-5)

We hope and trust that you have enjoyed this post by @papilloncharity
Thank you for the visit!

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