Damselflies - American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana)
by Reed A. George
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5
Last weekend, I took a little float trip down the Shenandoah River. Part of the River and Roots music festival, held at Watermelon Park in Berryville, Virginia, this educational event was led by musician and teacher Josh Bearman of The Hot Seats.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand - damselflies. This potential couple of American Rubyspots was perched very near the water surface. I say potential couple, because at this stage, the female (to the right) is being held by the male, and allowed to evaluate him for suitability. If she approves, her abdomen and terminal genitalia will connect to his body, forming a sort of circular orientation between their bodies.
These guys spend 1-3 years as aquatic larvae, with only a couple of weeks as adults, during which they mate and then die.
The tiny sensor on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5 has all of the drawbacks of a small sensor, of course, which includes digital noise at high ISO settings. However, a big advantage of the small sensor is the closeup capability, as demonstrated here. This would have been exceedingly difficult to capture with a DSLR, even forgetting about the risk of getting it wet. In this case, I simply left the camera in iAuto mode, and slid it down into the grass next to the damselflies. I shot several images in a few seconds, but found this one to be the best.
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