First up is a Vivid Dancer damselfly that I noticed resting on some hedges near Moran Lake. When perching, damselflies typically hold their wings close together above their thin abdomen.
Dragonflies spread their wings out away from the body. I noticed this male Blue-eyed Darner land on a tree at Natural Bridges State Park.
Big dragonflies like darners seldom land. Getting a focused picture of a flying one is near impossible for me, but the big male Common Green Darners sometimes hover in place long enough for me to use manual focus and get a decent image like this one at Westlake Pond. The green thorax and blue abdomen can be seen with the naked eye, making this odonata easy to identify.
The Variegated Meadowhawk seems to be the most common dragonfly around Santa Cruz this fall.
I really interesting dragonfly that perched for me was this Black Saddlebags.
Butterflies can be even tougher to photograph than the odes. One of the most obvious local butterflies is the Cabbage White which is actually introduced from Europe and considered a pest.
This Red Admiral was basking with wings open on a palm frond near the homeless garden.
These mating Mylitta Crescents were preoccupied enough that I was able to get some good pictures.
Ok, that's all for now, there will be more to come later on.
