I was strolling in my backyard trying to get some bird with my Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM. Birds were elusive on that day. What I saw was this dragonfly, but since I had not taken my macro lens with me, I quickly fixed 36mm extension tube to 400mm lens so as to make it a macro lens and shot these pics of this Slender Skimmer Dragon Fly a.k.a Green Marsh Hawk (Orthetrum sabina) feasting on a nice juicy fly.
Size: Male: Abdomen: 30-36mm, Hind wing: 30-36mm.
Female: Abdomen: 32-35mm, Hind wing: 31-35mm
Description: Male: Face is yellowish green. Eyes: Green mottled with black. Thorax: Greenish yellow with black tiger like stripes. Legs: Black; inner side of anterior femora is yellow. Wings: Transparent; inner edge of hindwing tinted with yellow. Wing spot: Black with reddish brown spot. Abdomen: The segments 1-3 are green with broad black rings and distinctly swollen at the base. Female: Is very similar to the male.
Habits and habitat: A common dragonfly of gardens and fields. This dragonfly perches motionless on shrubs and dry twigs for a long time. Hawks flying insects such as flies, small butterflies and dragonflies. This species can be seen far away from water and occassionally enters houses at night attracted by the light. Breeding: Breeds in ponds and tanks.
Flight season: Throughout the year.
Distribution: Widely distributed in Ethiopian, Oriental and Australian region. It is found throughout Indian subcontinent upto an altitude of 2000m ASL.
Nice shots , like the angle . I am yet to try these extension tubes.
Shiva,
There was no time to change lens. And I am finding 400mm with extension tube is best macro setup. It gives you great distance to work with insects and nice bokeh. All I need to carry now is 400mm + set of extension tubes now 😉 which angle did you like frontal or the side view?
Regards
Krishna Mohan
I like the second one .