A dragonfly gets a new set of wings....

While at the cottage last week I came across a dragonfly that just emerged from its old shell and I saw the new wings form. Unfortunately it was raining hard, otherwise I would have set my camera up on a tripod for time-lapse photography.

Here's the best pictures I could get considering the horrible weather. In the first picture, you can see how the wings were all crumpled, wet and soft. In the second pic, as the wings dried they actually looked like stained glass. As they dried even more in the third picture they formed perfectly ( changed the background colour in the third pic to show more detail).

Pretty cool!

That is soo cool!! You are a great photographer!!

WOW!!! Awesome I did'nt know they even did that!

Wow! Thats so awesome!

Wow Kass! Those are amazing pictures!

Yea...Those are amazing!

You have an expensive camera. I'm jealous. lol. Great job!

Wow, that's pretty. Even though the double set of legs kinda gave me the shivers

I didn't know they did that either!!! Learn somethin' new everyday!!!

Oh my gosh. That's so detailed and I hate to sound like everyone else but 'amazing'! Definitly!

I gotta say, it looks like two flys mating!

Wow-thats awesome! I didnt know that they did that either, but ya know if ya look at that and didnt know any better it kinda looks like there is 2 "mating".....hehe....you do some great pictures-I am so jealous~

That is so pretty!

Those photos are amazing! Dragonflies are really interesting creatures, aren't they? We get a lot out by our pond - Jamie loves to chase them.

Wonderful photos!
What kind of camera do you have? Do you often do real time-lapse photography?

Awesome pictures Actually, a dragonfly doesn't get a new set of wings. They live most of their lives in the water as a nymph. For some of the large species, this can be a few years. These dragonfly nymphs are actually quite ferocious, feeding on other water insects and even small fish. When mature, they emerge out of the water, shed the old shell and are the flying insect that you see here. Dragonflies are very beneficial insects. They feed on other insects by actually catching them in flight. As for the time lapse. I once took time lapse video of a Monarch butterfly emerging from it's chrysalis. Was really cool to watch

That is the coolest thing, you have a good eye to have come across this. Thank you for sharing with us!!!

Originally Posted by kittylover4ever

I gotta say, it looks like two flys mating!

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That's what I thought when I first saw them.

Actually, it's a funny story. I was taking pictures of some flowers, really close to the ground. Meanwhile, the dragonfly was beside me the whole time, to my left. Didn't even see it. At this point I was lying flat against the ground, supported by my elbows, trying to get a good pic of these little flowers and saw something out of the corner of my eye. When I finally saw it I almost when rolling into the lake! I didn't know at first what it was but thought it was some big alien type ugly cochroach (especially when you see the old shell).

Then I gained my composure, took a few shots, and went back to the cottage when it started raining. Yeah, I'm a nature photographer at its best.

Originally Posted by pushylady

Wonderful photos!
What kind of camera do you have? Do you often do real time-lapse photography?

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Canon G6 - I'm just starting to experiment with everything so this would be my first time with time-lapse photography.

Canon G6- I'll add that to my list! I've been meaning to buy a digital camera for a year now, just can't seem to make up my mind.

As for the time lapse. I once took time lapse video of a Monarch butterfly emerging from it's chrysalis. Was really cool to watch

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Wow John, that sounds awesome! Can you put up a link to it?

I agree, this is totally awesome! Thanks for sharing...and you, too John, I've learned a lot today!