Dragon hunter-Hagenius brevistylus

Dragon hunter-Hagenius brevistylus

Dragon hunter-Hagenius brevistylus (male) is, as its name implies, is a hunter of dragonflies/damselflies (jewelwings are a favorite), but will take butterflies and large insects; they are one of the few in the order of Odonate to bite people when handled.

The story here is while photographing this Dragon hunter an unidentified dragonfly perched right behind it, and was instantly captured and taken away high into the trees to be eaten.
The first photo was prearrival, the second was arrival (out of focus and to the left), and the third was captured and carried away (sorry for lack of clarity).

This was a very dramatic episode for me, maybe because it all happened in my viewfinder, happened so fast and furious, and because in some sense it was cannibalisms.

see: reference books by Dennis Paulson

Photographs are copyrighted, Dennis Tsiorbas 2021