It is the rainy season in the Philippines which creates a lot of small "wetland" habitats that are suitable for dragonflies.
There is a small stream near my parents' home in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija and a lot of puddles in a nearby field. The small stream and the small puddles, formed after the rain, often attract many insects particularly dragonflies which can be seen darting back and forth.
I probably will not get tired of taking photos of dragonflies. Aside from their astounding beauty, dragonflies serve an important role as apex predators: They prey on mosquitoes and are thus instrumental in keeping mosquito populations at bay.
In recent months, a dengue epidemic has been declared in the Philippines with mosquitoes identified as the main vectors or carriers of this deadly disease.
Thus, a healthy population of dragonflies is a natural and effective way of controlling mosquito populations. It is said that one dragonfly can devour 100 mosquitoes in a day. If only we have more dragonflies in urban areas and cities, then we can have some non-artificial way of getting rid of mosquitoes.
But back to the photos.
Here are some of the more recent photos I was able to take. The first photos is a macro photo of a red Cloud Wing dragonfly resting on a shrub close to the ground. The photo was taken early in the morning. This dragonfly gets its name from the "cloud pattern" seen on both of its wings.
The second photo is that of a Green Marsh Hawk, a slim yet deadly predator, resting on a blade of grass. The marsh hawk is a particularly vicious predator. Aside from mosquitoes and other small insects, it is often seen preying on smaller dragonflies.
