Yellow Bush Dart

One late evening I found this whitish bodied damselfly resting on a dry twig in the garden. It was quite dark outside. So I picked up my macro rig which consisted of Canon EOS 5D mark II fitted with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM. For illumination I used ExpoImaging Ray Flash Adapter fitted on to Canon Speedlite 580EX II flash. It was sitting almost close to the ground in a very tight corner. As focusing was difficult, I used my Canon Right Angle Finder and photographed this damselfly almost lying down on the ground. If I had flippable live view finder like Canon EOS 600D it would have been wonderful. Due to the low light I was not able to see the damselfly properly. Fortunately the white body of the damselfly helped in my focus. Even though I was very close to the ground, the background was not clear as it was surrounded by bushes. I could later identify that it was a Male Yellow Bush Dart damselfly (Copera marginipes)

Yellow Bush Dart

Male Yellow Bush Dart is little larger than female. Characteristic feature of Yellow Bush Dart is a black band which extends from eye to eye. Male Yellow Bush Dart has eyes which are black above, greenish on sides and beneath with black equatorial band. Thorax is bronze black with fine yellow lines on sides. The stripe on sides is narrow and pale greenish yellow. Legs are bright yellowish orange. Wings are transparent. Wing spot is brown. Abdomen is bronzed black above. Segment 3-6 with a pale stripe along the side and a narrow pale greenish white ring at the end of each segment.

Yellow Bush Dart

The specimen I had was more whitish than brown that was because the damselfly was in the teneral phase. Teneral is the period when the adult insect is newly emerged from the pupal case or nymphal skin. During the teneral period, the insect’s exoskeleton has not hardened or darkened, leaving it vulnerable. The term comes from the Latin tener, meaning soft, young, and tender.

Yellow Bush Dart

Female Yellow Bush Dart’s ground color is dark with varying shades of brown. Eyes are similar to the male but has a brown cap. Thorax is brown. The black stripe above is similar to that of males and black stripe on sides is irregular. Legs are brownish. Wings are transparent. Wing spot is pale brown. Abdomen is brown above with broad rings towards the end. Half of 8th segment and the whole of 9-10th segments pale brownish white.

Yellow Bush Dart

Found along ponds, puddles, canals and streams. Flies less than a meter above the ground. It breeds in shallow water collections, such as rainwater puddles and backwaters of streams. Flight season is from August to November. Distributed throughout the oriental region.

Trying to go beyond my comfort zone has been my effort for last few months. I tried my hands in travel photography in my Lakshadweep island trip. Now I am trying my hands with my new lens Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM. I bought this lens as I wanted a considerable reach for shooting birds. After trying out Canon EF 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM lens successfully for macro it was difficult to use Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM. There were 2 main reasons. Minimum focusing distance of 300mm f/4 was 1.5meters with a magnification of 0.24x. With 300mm f/2.8 minimum focussing distance increased to 2.5 meters and the magnification decreased to 0.13x. I used Canon EF 2x II Extender to increase the Extenders do not affect the Minimum Focus Distance of the lens they are mounted behind, thus the Maximum Magnification of the lens is also multiplied by 2x. I got 600mm lens with 0.26x magnification which was great. If I need more magnification I need to add my Kenko extension tubes but I haven’t resorted to that yet.

Because the Canon EF 2x II Extender is multiplying the aberrations/flaws of the lens it is mounted behind by 2x, there will be noticeable degradation in image quality when using the 2x. Sharpness and contrast take a hit with all but the best lenses. Additional CA (Chromatic Aberration) is introduced as is slight barrel distortion, but vignetting is somewhat reduced. The best 2x results will only be made using a very sharp lens such as the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens. I have tried this 2x Extender on my other lenses almost all of them have failed.

Female Crimson Marsh Glider (Trithemis aurora)

Crimson Marsh Glider (Trithemis aurora)
It is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.

It is a medium sized dragonfly that is commonly found in weedy tanks and ponds, marshes, channels, and slow flowing streams and rivers in the lowlands and mid-hills. It breeds in streams, rivers, canals, ponds and tanks. It is found commonly and widely distributed in India throughout the year.

The male of the species is distinctly different from the female.

The male has a reddish brown face, with eyes that are crimson above and brown on the sides. The thorax is red with a fine, purple pruinescence. The abdomen, the base of which is swollen, is crimson with a violet tinge. The wings are transparent with crimson venation and the base has a broad amber patch. The wing spots are a dark reddish-brown and the legs are black.

The female has an olivaceous or bright reddish-brown face with eyes that are purplish-brown above and grey below. The thorax is olivaceous with brown median and black lateral stripes. The abdomen is reddish-brown with median and lateral black markings. The black markings are confluent at the end of each segment and enclose a reddish-brown spot. The wings are transparent with brown tips. The venation is bright yellow to brown and basal amber markings are pale. The wing spots are a dark brown and the lags are dark grey with narrow yellow stripes.

Grey Pansy Butterfly (Junonia atlites)

Grey Pansy Butterfly (Junonia atlites)

Wingspan of 55-65 mm. A medium sized light gray butterfly with darker colored wing margins. The sexes are similar. The upper side is marked with a row of post-median ocelli on both wings. There is a series of short wavy bands hanging off the costal margin of the fore-wing. The underside ground color is much paler, and the hind wing has an oblique line running across the wing. The markings and the intensity of color on the undersides of this butterfly are quite variable; the dry season forms showing the lightest color and fewest markings.

It is a much more habitat specific species than the other pansies, inhabiting areas in the vicinity of water such as rice fields, canals, tanks and marshy areas. It is not plentiful but may be found throughout the year and is the least common of the pansies. It is seldom seen above 2500 feet elevation.

Its behavior is very similar to that of the other pansies except in egg laying. It will often lay eggs on plants above the waterline in rice fields or open water bodies. The larvae are capable of surviving a rise in water levels by moving to high ground or other host plants nearby with relative ease. Like the other pansies, it joins migratory flights.

Black Torrent Dart Damselfly (Dysphaea ethela)

Black Torrent Dart Damselfly (Dysphaea ethela)

A large black damselfly with amber coloured wings. Lives in torrential hill streams from 300-1000m ASL. This damselfly is rare and usually sits in the middle of streams on boulders or emergent twigs. If disturbed flies high up to riparian trees. Breeding: Not known. Flight season: June to December. Distribution: Western Ghats from Agastyamalai to Aghanashini river in Uttara Kannara district. This species is also known from the Eastern Ghats.