A Huge One

At about 84mm (3.3") in length, the blue emperor (Anax imperator), grote keizerlibel in Dutch, is the largest of the dragonflies in The Netherlands.

It is very territorial and difficult to approach, but I eventually got a good shot:

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 240mm, ISO200, f7.1, 1/100s}

I have made a montage to scale to show the difference in size with a common damselfly, the azure damselfly (Coenagrion puella), azuurwaterjuffer in Dutch:

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 240mm, ISO200, f7.1, 1/100s}

This is the female of the blue emperor, depositing eggs:

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 265mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/200s}

I had to walk into the water to get that shot, without having had the time to take my shoes off, but is was well worth it.

Thanks for watching!