My Favourite ImageEmperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)

The male Emperor is a large & particularly striking dragonfly. It has a vivid bright blue abdomen which makes it unmistakable. The female has an overall greener appearance & has a brown abdomen.

This dragonfly spends a large percentage of its time on the wing. When it does settle it is often at ground level & in very dense vegetation, making an approach impossible. This is a very easily disturbed dragonfly.

Occasionally on warm days, they will settle on Gorse bushes or similar vegetation & with care images are possible. Additionally when perching to eat larger prey they may become slightly more approachable.

I was very pleased with this photograph. To get such a close up is a rarity & although the image quality has been compressed to save internet space, it still retains a good level of detail.