Wasp & Dragonfly

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 12, 2011134 views6 comments

I've noticed that wasps harrass dragonflies constantly and by dumb luck I caught one closing in on a Black Saddlebags Dragonfly yesterday.

E-5, 50mm F2 macro with 1.4 TC
1/800 sec @ F8 0 EV
ISO 500
tripod

Large view

Thanks in advance if you have critiques or comments.

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on September 12, 2011 at 2:05 AM

Charlie:
Congrat on this image. This is no dumb luck. You worked hard for this; you had to be there to catch the moment and you did - that is all it matters. No luck involved

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Marquart on September 12, 2011 at 10:34 AM

Nice shot.

Registered on October 24, 2009, 126 Posts, 799 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on September 12, 2011 at 2:13 PM

Whenever I look at insects through a macro lens I cannot help thinking that we should be thankful this scary, cruel macro world is not much larger. Just imagine a dragonfly the size of a cessna

Sorry I couldn't help thinking about that looking at two such 'scary' creatures in one frame! Nice catch and remarkable that you managed to get both in focus. Did you ever witness any physical interaction between these species Charlie?

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie Baugh on September 12, 2011 at 3:10 PM

As to the interaction, they have a constant interaction it seems. The dragonflies (not just this one) seem to have the wasps calibrated in that they stay put until the very last split second before flight. The DfF doesn't usually fly far and usually comes right back to the perch. Wasps when they land on these perched don't seem to stay. It almost seems like play.

Are you sure your not a science fiction writter? Man size wasps! Now you went and lost our squimish viewers of insects here.

Registered on April 18, 2011, 329 Posts, 1985 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie Baugh on September 13, 2011 at 1:04 AM

Vinvent, I have never noticed that there seems to be stinging. They seem to be vying for prime perches although the wasps never stay long. There still is a lot that is not known about species behavior.

Registered on April 18, 2011, 329 Posts, 1985 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on September 20, 2011 at 1:23 AM

Wow! Amazing capture Charlie. Praise be for those moments we have with dumb luck ;^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments