ID please Dragonfly - river Ouse July

[crisscross]

not often one chooses to hover just at min focus for my tele lens!..but it (she?) didn't land anywhere for a static shot

[Hedera]

What a nice encounter - I have seen this and wonder if they are inspecting us? Those eyes are fantastic. Sorry can't ID it.

[Jason Claxton]

Hi Chris

It is an Emperor.And a male

[crisscross]

Originally Posted by Jason Claxton

Hi Chris

It is an Emperor.And a male

Thank you Jason - I should have known as it is the same 'character' that figured in my minidrama of 26th June
damsel in distress
but I was fooled by the fact that head-on, it shows only green and the tuquoise body is masked...but the face make-up is obviously the same....however are we sure of the male bit, as the colour of the body in as much as it does show through the wings is more like the neutral of the female (eg Emperor Dragonfly | british-dragonflies.org.uk ) ???

Hedera - they are obviously out to get me this year!!

[Jason Claxton]

Originally Posted by crisscross

Thank you Jason - I should have known as it is the same 'character' that figured in my minidrama of 26th June
damsel in distress
but I was fooled by the fact that head-on, it shows only green and the tuquoise body is masked...but the face make-up is obviously the same....however are we sure of the male bit, as the colour of the body in as much as it does show through the wings is more like the neutral of the female (eg Emperor Dragonfly | british-dragonflies.org.uk ) ???

Hedera - they are obviously out to get me this year!!

Hi Chris,I reckon that it is a teneral male or maybe its colour has been affected by a lower temperature , as I can see more of a blue pattern on its fons(its face if you will).

Jason.

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by Jason Claxton

Hi Chris,I reckon that it is a teneral male or maybe its colour has been affected by a lower temperature , as I can see more of a blue pattern on its fons(its face if you will).

Jason.

The brown tinged wings are more something that I would expect to see on an old individual, and as females can become blue the small amount of blue that can be seen here is of no use in identifying the sex of this one.
From this photo I would be inclined to leave the question of gender open (though I would normally expect a male to appear brighter).

[Jason Claxton]

Thanks Roy,very interesting ,and you have a wealth of experience with these...I wonder if the pages of my guide are fully flushable.

Jason.

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by Jason Claxton

Thanks Roy,very interesting ,and you have a wealth of experience with these

An obsession you mean?

Originally Posted by Jason Claxton

I wonder if the pages of my guide are fully flushable.

I hope not, guides should never be discarded - they will almost always contain useful information. They just don't always contain all the information that might be useful (a balance has to be reached depending on the target readership and whether the guide is intended to be taken into the field).

[wint]

Originally Posted by Jason Claxton

..I wonder if the pages of my guide are fully flushable.

Jason.

I'll have it if you don't want it!

[Jason Claxton]

Sorry Wint

I have accepted that it would be best to accept the limitations of field guides,than to be without it ,and it would also be best not to risk blocking my loo.Jason