Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Dragonfly ballet - Pas de libellule

Dragonflies of all denominations have flitted in and out of my garden throughout the year.

Their favourite perches are bamboo stems which I used as stakes for slender stems and climbers.
 
  They can bask in the sunshine for hours on end.

Unlike most bees and butterflies, I have not seen them collecting pollens or imbibing nectar. They mostly sunbathed and appeared to be utterly contented.

This particular one is small. When I approached with my Nikon micro lens, it arched its dainty abdomen in an upright stance with the gossamer-like wings spread out horizontally, reminiscent of a ballerina's tutu.

This little insect ballerina pirouetted round the pole in a pompous display of its artful ballet movements.

Its gossamer-like tutu shimmered and glimmered in the sunshine with every tiny move.

 All six legs are "en pointe" for this stance.

She is still at her solo "pas de valse" at dizzying heights on the high pole.

And now to go down, to take a dip and a bow. 


It's time to take flight to signal the end of a brilliant performance. A silent applause is bestowed on this wonderful critter.




I do not the ID of this plant. It has slender stems carrying numerous blooms and need to be staked.

Note: This plant has been identified as Pseuderanthemum laxiflorum



16 comments:

  1. aloha,

    that is a beautiful dragonfly, the purple and hot pink is dazzling and i'm not sure of what your plant is also, looks kinda like a clerodendron, but i know its not, love that color too :)

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  2. Your pics are so cool! The dragonfly is super cute hehe... That to me looks like a clerodendrum also ;-)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Stephanie, I verified with lots of images from the net and it has been identified as Pseuderanthemum laxiflorum.

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  3. That is a lovely shot of the dragonfly.
    Wished lots of dragonflies come over my garden...
    Noticing that now very few butterflies, birds & bees come over my garden..
    Hmmm...

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  4. Hi James. I've lots of six or eight-legged critters and mollusc visiting my garden. I do not use any form of pesticide or fungicide at all. This could possibly be a contributing factor. However the approach of birds will send them on a panic flight away. I've yet to acquire telephoto lens to capture images of birds.

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  5. This is really a beautiful dragonfly. This colour of pink is not common in my garden. I like dragonflies. Hopefully, they will eat up the mosquitoes and ants in our garden.

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  6. Hi Autumn Belle,
    I agree with you that the pink/purple variety is not as common as the yellow/golden ones.

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  7. What a stunning dragonfly, those colors are just gorgeous. Great pics of it too, wish I could capture such a shot! I am good at capturing a blur when it comes to bug photos...lol! Love it and love your blog, looking forward to following. Cheers Julia

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  8. Thanks Julia. Shots of dragonflies are actually easy to shoot. Once they have settled on a particular post, they keep coming back to it and stay relatively still for one to angled the camera for the best shots. There is even time to adjust the f-stop and shutter speed.

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  9. Stunning dragonfly images! I love them so much, I'm your newest follower. :)

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  10. Thanks Michelle for stopping by and I'm honoured that you are a follower of my blog. You have a great blog. The nature photography is truly amazing.

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  11. Thanks for visiting my blog. it is always fun when someone new arrives. and then to find such a beautiful blog.

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  12. Beautiful shots of the dragonfly! It seems to know that you are admiring it, and it takes full advantage to display its antics! Hehe!
    The flower is lovely but I do not know the name either!

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  13. Thats a Dawn Dropwing dragonfly, I think. They're beautiful, aren't they? I have them in my garden too.
    Oh, by the way, what he is doing is called 'obelisking'. They do that to reduce exposure to the sun and avoid heating up. Wish it would work for me!

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  14. Hi Sunita, thanks for the informataion on the dragonfly ID and about 'obelisking'.

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