Fine Young Cannibal
Original G+ Post, July 09, 2017
I have been photographing Damselflies for a few years now and have seen my fair share of territorial defenses. One damselfly defending hunting airspace. This ends with the dominant damsel chasing the intruder off and returning to its perch. On Saturday I witnessed something I have never seen before. The intruder was snagged midair by the larger defender and hauled off for a meal. It was a struggle for the blue victor to lift the prey up to a nearby plant. I quickly honed in, drew focus, and fired off a shot. I feel quite fortunate to have captured a decent image as there was a slight breeze swaying the leaf and the damsel took flight right after the flash fired. It strained to fly deeper in the brush. I tracked it through dense vegetation near the edge of the bayou bank hoping to get another shot but the Damsel finally rested on a reed in the bayou well out the MP-E 65mm focal range.
Image Specs - Canon 1D MKIV, MP-E 65mm @ 1:1, f/13, SS 1/250. ISO200, MT-24EX with DIY diffuser.