Halloween Pennant Dragonfly

Great weather today in Florida and Long Island as well, I hear. Took a long walk through the undeveloped parkland and found this guy. Unusual coloring I thought, so I couldn't pass him up!

With these black and orange colors, he's the Halloween Pennant Dragonfly!

praying mantis 2

praying mantis 2, a photo by Alida's Photos on Flickr.

According to wikipedia:
"Close up image of a mantis' face (Archimantis latistyla) showing its compound eyes and labrum. The structure of the compound eye creates the illusion of a small pupil."

dragon fly or damsel?

dragon fly, a photo by Alida's Photos on Flickr.

I don't know the names of all the varieties of dragon flies and damselflies, but thought this one was a beauty. I wish I had gotten the bright blue "tail" sharper, but I think he was vibrating this end to attract the females!

"Damselflies are similar to dragonflies, but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, and parallel to, the body when at rest."

So I guess this is a damselfly!

ant macro

ant macro, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

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Sometimes you just have to stop and notice the small stuff.

Appreciate it all....

the majestic mountains and expansive oceans, 

and the tiny ants and flakes of pollen.

 It's all there for you to explore.

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Exploring with a macro lens forces the photographer to look for little things.

It's just like looking through a magnifying glass.

Things appear that you didn't see before.

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