Once in a while I am very lucky and get a close up photo that I wow over. This large red dragonfly was flying around in our front yard and landed on the car antenna.

According to Wikipedia a dragonfly is a type of insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epeprocta  or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera. It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body. Dragonflies are similar to damselflies, but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most dragonflies are held away from, and perpendicular to, the body when at rest. Even though dragonflies possess 6 legs like any other insect, they are not capable of walking.

Dragonflies are valuable predators that eat mosquitoes. They are usually found around lakes, ponds, streams and wetland because their larvae, known as “nymphs”, are aquatic.