Golden Ringed Dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii)
Photography by Chris Brooks
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The Golden Ringed Dragonfly
This is undoubtedly one of the UK's most stunning and largest species of dragonfly. It may appear from early to mid June & can be seen through to early September.
It is a species that is found on the streams of both heathland and moorland. It's widely distributed in most the UK but is absent from large parts of East Anglia and the Midlands.
The abdomen and the thorax of both the male and female are predominently black with vivid golden to yellow rings, set at regular intervals and is from where it gets its very apt name.
Both sexes exhibit green eyes when fully mature. The female is slightly larger and has a long ovipositor on the abdomen's tip.
The males are very fond of basking in the sunshine on low lying vegetation, adjacent to streams in which they breed.
A suitable stream can support a healthy population of Golden Ringed Dragonflies. The adult males can command a territory every ten or twenty metres, over which they randomly patrol.
So frequent in flight clashes between the males are therefore inevitable.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge the images)
Photographic Overview - The Golden Ringed Dragonfly
All of my images are taken in handheld mode without the use of any camera support and this overview is written with that in mind.
The Golden Ringed Dragonfly can be a very obliging subject and really close up images are fairly easy to obtain. On warmer days males can be found perched on low lying accessible streamside vegetation and appear to take no notice of the lens at all. When in this mood take full advantage to obtain some more interesting facial images.
They generally perch in the classic crucifix position with the wings held rigidly outwards. Owing to the relatively flat plane, depth of field is not that crucial; however beware of the sun's glare from the wings. This can be eliminated by moving the angle of the shot either slight up, down or to the sides but beware of the wing tips moving out of focus.
If you want to know more about this species, then follow this link - To Narrative
Like to see further images of this dragonfly, then follow this link -
If you want to see the best of these images, then follow this link - To Slide Show
These images were obtained by stealth and patience alone, no other non photographic techniques were used. I hope you have enjoyed browsing and that you'll return again soon.
All of these photographs were taken by and remain the property of Chris Brooks.
Page Updated 11/09
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Chris Brooks Photography
(www.dragonfly-images.co.uk)
