They left way before I could see them. One type was darner huge. I could see some of them as they chose a perch a bit down the trail. Others took a turn in flight, enabling me to seem them. All of the Georgia darners a few weeks ago eluded my camera lens. Rock Hawk trails near Eatonton, Georgia was the home of beautiful, unapproachable darners.
The darner in this image was taking advantage of the early morning sunlight. Warming rays of sun that fueled its “engines” assuring that within minutes, rocket-like flight would let it capture winged insects, and elude all, including curious photographers of butterflies.
A very long time ago, I posted a blog with an image of a darner. I offered my boyhood experience of catching one in flight, with my bare hard. Never, never will I do that again. Funny, though. Their bite is past painful, yet not one of the 97,359 darners I’ve come across, have ever been aggressive to me. For that alone, I respect darners (AKA dragonflies).
Oh, qualify as ‘winged beauties?’ Big Yes on that.
Jeff
Winged Beauty Butterflies 
97,359 ? I want to see the notches you made on your walking stick each time you saw one of these! : )
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Ouch! Don’t have a walking stick? Did see some several hundred darners and darner-like fliers these last few days in Chapman State Park, Jake’s Rocks and the Jamestown Audubon Society’s verdant acreage (lots).
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dragonflies are really beautiful! it’s fascinating the way they can be comfortable on water, land as well as the air. i like the symbolism about their flight across water as an act of going beyond what’s on the surface and looking into the deeper implications and aspects of life.
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I assumed the Darner was a Dragon Fly but upon reading your comment stating it’s actually a butterfly.!..and it stings? Thanks for the interesting info.
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Ouch! Darners are not butterflies, but are grouped into Order Odonata. More than 450 species are native to north america. Over these more than 3 years, I have loosened the knots, so to speak, and included fliers of other Orders to our butterfly posts. These other, like darners, are worthy of big oohs! and ahhs!
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Ooops, I apologize for the lack of knowledge I have of small animals. Dragon flies are big in this corner of U.S., not so with butterflies.
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On Facebook, many often post ‘LOL.’ I’ve read several books by Robert Michael Pyle, who grew up in your part of the country. He would note on occasion that butterflies were a bit scare there. An easterner has difficulty with that idea, but climate and botany rule, when it comes to butterflies.
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