#Cordulidae
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stevevalley.bsky.social
A female #BeaverpondBaskettail #dragonfly, #Epitheca-canis in my backyard #Albany,Oregon,USA

#Odonata #Insects #Anisoptera #Cordulidae #Invertebrate #Entomology #FocusStacking #NikonD810 #ZereneStacker #Macro #BugPics #DragonflyPhotography #Science #SteveValleyPhotography #photography #SciArt #Art
A female Beaverpond Baskettail dragonfly, Epitheca canis in my backyard, Albany, Oregon, USA. This species is one of my favorites, primarily flying here in the Willamette Valley in May and June. The eyes of mature males are mostly sapphire blue but as they mature there are amazing reddish purples and the color changes when viewed from different angles. They are called Baskettails because all Epitheca females carry a large ball of eggs, at the end of their abdomen, as they fly around searching for just the right plant stem or twig on the surface of water. They touch the egg ball to the stem and it sticks and immediately expands into a long gelatin string with the eggs embedded. Often there will be multiple egg strings attached to the same stem. Baskettails are extremely hairy on the thorax and head with very distinctive patterns and colors of setae (hairs).
March 12, 2025 at 4:29 AM
stevevalley.bsky.social
A male #BeaverpondBaskettail #dragonfly, #Epitheca-canis at Freeway Lakes #Albany,Oregon,USA

#Odonata #Insects #Anisoptera #Cordulidae #Invertebrate #Entomology #FocusStacking #NikonD810 #ZereneStacker #Macro #BugPics #DragonflyPhotography #Science #SteveValleyPhotography #photography #SciArt #Art
A male Beaverpond Baskettail dragonfly, Epitheca canis at Freeway Lakes, Albany, Oregon, USA. This species is one of my favorites, primarily flying here in the Willamette Valley in May and June. The eyes of mature males are mostly sapphire blue but as they mature there are amazing reddish purples and the color changes when viewed from different angles. They are called Baskettails because all Epitheca females carry a large ball of eggs, at the end of their abdomen, as they fly around searching for just the right plant stem or twig on the surface of water. They touch the egg ball to the stem and it sticks and immediately expands into a long gelatin string with the eggs embedded. Often there will be multiple egg strings attached to the same stem. Baskettails are extremely hairy on the thorax and head with very distinctive patterns and colors of setae (hairs).
March 9, 2025 at 10:36 PM
stevevalley.bsky.social
A male #BeaverpondBaskettail #dragonfly, #Epitheca-canis at Freeway Lakes #Albany,Oregon,USA

#Odonata #Insects #Anisoptera #Cordulidae #Invertebrate #Entomology #FocusStacking #NikonD810 #ZereneStacker #Macro #BugPics #DragonflyPhotography #Science #SteveValleyPhotography #photography #SciArt #Art
A male Beaverpond Baskettail dragonfly, Epitheca canis at Freeway Lakes, Albany, Oregon, USA. This species is one of my favorites, primarily flying here in the Willamette Valley in May and June. The eyes of mature males are mostly sapphire blue but as they mature there are amazing reddish purples and the color changes when viewed from different angles. They are called Baskettails because all Epitheca females carry a large ball of eggs, at the end of their abdomen, as they fly around searching for just the right plant stem or twig on the surface of water. They touch the egg ball to the stem and it sticks and immediately expands into a long gelatin string with the eggs embedded. Often there will be multiple egg strings attached to the same stem. Baskettails are extremely hairy on the thorax and head with very distinctive patterns and colors of setae (hairs).
March 5, 2025 at 7:30 PM
stevevalley.bsky.social
A male #RingedEmerald #dragonfly, #Somatochlora-albicincta at EnidLake #Mt.Hood,Oregon,USA

#Odonata #Insects #Anisoptera #Cordulidae #Emerald #Invertebrate #Entomology #FocusStacking #NikonD810 #ZereneStacker #BugPics #DragonflyPhotography #Science #SteveValleyPhotography #photography #SciArt #Art
A dorsal portrait of a male Ringed Emerald dragonfly, Somatochlora albicincta at EnidLake near Mt.Hood, Oregon, USA. This specimen displays a blue colored frons and vertex that is called a structural color rather than a pigment based color. Most structural colors appear metallic or iridescent and are caused by the fine molecular structure of the surface that causes it refract specific wavelengths in the spectrum. So far, I have discovered males with this color and also a bright bronze color, but I don't know the cause of 2 color morphs. On the Emeralds the colors on the face are only visible to humans under diffused light, like a cloudy day, but they just appear a shiny black under direct sunlight. Metallic greenish coloration on the thorax are visible under all light. The Emerald get their name from their magnificent green eyes. Focus stacks were shot with a Nikon D810 w/50mm Rodenstock Rodagon mounted on Nikon PB-4 Bellows, ~3X.
February 11, 2025 at 7:26 PM
stevevalley.bsky.social
A male #RingedEmerald #dragonfly, #Somatochlora-albicincta at EnidLake #Mt.Hood,Oregon,USA

#Odonata #Insects #Anisoptera #Cordulidae #Emerald #Invertebrate #Entomology #FocusStacking #NikonD810 #ZereneStacker #BugPics #DragonflyPhotography #Science #SteveValleyPhotography #photography #SciArt #Art
A male Ringed Emerald dragonfly, Somatochlora albicincta at EnidLake near Mt.Hood, Oregon, USA. This specimen displays a blue colored frons and vertex that is called a structural color rather than a pigment based color. Most structural colors appear metallic or iridescent and are caused by the fine molecular structure of the surface that causes it refract specific wavelengths in the spectrum. So far, I have discovered males with this color and also a bright bronze color, but I don't know the cause of 2 color morphs. On the Emeralds the colors on the face are only visible to humans under diffused light, like a cloudy day, but they just appear a shiny black under direct sunlight. Metallic greenish coloration on the thorax are visible under all light. The Emerald get their name from their magnificent green eyes. Focus stacks were shot with a Nikon D810 w/50mm Rodenstock Rodagon mounted on Nikon PB-4 Bellows, ~3X. See my other bronze male.
February 8, 2025 at 3:37 AM
stevevalley.bsky.social
A male #RingedEmerald #dragonfly, #Somatochlora-albicincta at EnidLake #Mt.Hood,Oregon,USA

#Odonata #Insects #Anisoptera #Cordulidae #Emerald #Invertebrate #Entomology #FocusStacking #NikonD810 #ZereneStacker #BugPics #DragonflyPhotography #Science #SteveValleyPhotography #photography #SciArt #Art
A male Ringed Emerald dragonfly, Somatochlora albicincta at EnidLake near Mt.Hood, Oregon, USA. This specimen displays a bronze colored frons and vertex that is salled a structural color rather than a pigment based color. Most structural colors appear metallic or iridescent and are caused by the fine molecular structure of the surface that causes it refract specific wavelengths in the spectrum. So far, I have discovered males with this color and also a bright blue color, but I don't know the cause of 2 color morphs. On the Emeralds the colors on the face are only visible to humans under diffused light, like a cloudy day, but they just appear a shiny black under direct sunlight. Metallic greenish coloration on the thorax are visible under all light. The Emerald get their name from their magnificent green eyes. Focus stacks were shot with a Nikon D810 w/50mm Rodenstock Rodagon mounted on Nikon PB-4 Bellows, ~3X. See my other blue male.
February 8, 2025 at 3:33 AM