There I was, trying to create some Odonart©.
18 AUG 2020 | 12:02:18 PM | JMAWR | Swift Setwing (male)
As I “worked the shot,” the imaginary soundtrack in my mind reminded me of the music bed at the beginning of Bambi Meets Godzilla. Peaceful. And just as suddenly as the animated film ends rudely, the idyllic scene before my eyes took a turn for the ugly!
Cue the Jaws Theme Song as the walk-on music for a Long-jawed Orb Weaver.
18 AUG 2020 | 12:03:10 PM | JMAWR | Swift Setwing (male)
52 seconds of elapsed time could have been the difference between life and death for the dragonfly. As far as I know, the Swift Setwing survived this near-death experience.
The Backstory
A Swift Setwing dragonfly (Dythemis velox) was spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell around Mulligan Pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge (JMAWR) in Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is a male, as indicated by his terminal appendages.
The first photo was taken when the dragonfly landed on a grass stem near the shoreline of the pond. Soon afterward his wings were “set” forward in the position from which the latter part of its common name is derived, as shown in the last photo. It is assumed by the author that the set wing position enables the dragonfly to take flight swiftly — a useful adaptation when being stalked by a stealthy spider!
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: Dythemis velox, Family Libellulidae (Skimmers), Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Long-jawed Orb Weaver, male, Mulligan Pond, Odonart, predator, prey, Swift Setwing dragonfly, terminal appendages
September 4, 2020 at 8:53 am |
Clever title, cool shots, and fun narrative. Well done, Walter.
September 4, 2020 at 9:00 am |
Thanks, Mike! I wonder whether any of your shots of the same dragonfly show the spider.
September 4, 2020 at 10:16 am |
I will double check, but I do not think that I have any shots with the spider. The perch does not look familiar, so this may not be one of the Swift Setwings that I photographed that day.
September 4, 2020 at 7:16 pm |
I know both of us photo’d this dragonfly.
September 4, 2020 at 8:30 pm
I think I found some photos of that dragonfly–our angles were different, so I did not immediately recognize the perch. In one shot I have the slightest glimpse of part of the spider in a corner of the image. (I’ll send it to you in Facebook.)
September 9, 2020 at 11:19 am |
Great photographs and accompanying narrative!
It seems to be the “summer of the spiders”, as I’ve encountered more incidents similar to yours (some with not-so-happy endings for the prey) than in previous years.