Yet another species of dragonfly

This hunting machine is a migrant hawker (Aeshna mixta), paardenbijter in Dutch.

The Dutch name translates as "horse biter"; it was given this name under the mistaken apprehension it spent much of its life biting horses. In reality, it only hangs around near horses to catch the flies there, so it is actually doing a good job.


Olympus XZ-1, 112mm, ISO200, f8, 1/200s

This one seems to be just hanging around, but is is in a very good position to observe its surroundings with its big, wrap-around eyes; it is hunting.


Olympus XZ-1, 112mm, ISO100, f8, 1/100s

Thanks for watching!

See this post for the previous species.

H2
H3
H4
3 columns
2 columns
1 column
15 Comments