My Favourite ImageDowny Emerald (Cordulia aenea)

This is without doubt one of my top images purely because the Emerald Dragonflies so rarely settle in accessible places and spend the majority of their time on the wing. When they do settle it is only for short periods, often in dull weather which will limit the quality of your images.

This photograph is of an immature female Downy Emerald, the brown eyes turning a striking green with maturity. It also has a bulge on the second abdominal segment & each wing base has a a saffron suffusion.

You can clearly see how the species got its name. The vivid metallic green body colouring is striking & the thoracic region is covered with very fine bronze hair.

This female perched quite readily which is unusual & it seemed quite unperturbed by the lens, allowing for this close up image to be taken.