{"id":148200,"date":"2025-06-12T02:37:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T07:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=148200"},"modified":"2025-06-11T17:39:17","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T22:39:17","slug":"blue-dasher-dragonfly-male-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/06\/12\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-male-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Dasher Dragonfly Male At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two days ago I photographed this adult Blue Dasher dragonfly near the gravel road at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. I’m happy to see the dragonflies back.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Blue Dasher dragonfly male at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f9, 1\/4000, ISO 1600, -0.7 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This Blue Dasher dragonfly was just one of the many dragonflies I saw near the refuge auto tour entrance. Most of them were Blue Dashers, both males and females.<\/p>\n

I enjoy seeing and photographing dragonflies. They are, after all, other things with wings. During the coldest months of the year, I miss dragonflies.<\/p>\n

It sure is nice to have them back, especially because I know they put a serious dent in the mosquitoes at the refuge and other locations. Mosquitoes love to bite me, I’m a mosquito magnet.<\/p>\n

Dragonflies are mosquito-eating winged things, and that makes them extra welcome in my book!<\/p>\n

I want them to put a large dent in the deer fly population at the refuge too. Even though I haven\u2019t been bitten by the deer flies here, I don\u2019t like it when they get near me because of how seriously I reacted to them when I lived in Utah.<\/p>\n

Having dragonflies around in our yards and gardens isn\u2019t just about the splash of color and smooth moves they bring. They\u2019re also doing the heavy lifting by keeping the local ecosystem healthy.<\/p>\n

They help cut down on chemical pesticides, protect pollinators, and keep things balanced out there, making them real MVPs for both the garden and the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Blue Dasher dragonfly photos plus facts and information about this species<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two days ago I photographed this adult Blue Dasher dragonfly near the gravel road at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. I’m happy to see the dragonflies back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":148197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15297,13973,13974],"tags":[4004,15305,15306,14190,13984,5366,2204,1799,4062,2558,4104,165],"class_list":["post-148200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blue-dasher-dragonflies","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-adult","tag-blue-dasher","tag-blue-dasher-dragonfly","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forest","tag-bottomlands","tag-dragonflies","tag-dragonfly","tag-insects","tag-male","tag-odonata","tag-perched","tag-spring"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-male-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0044.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-Cyk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":130326,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/07\/08\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-photo-and-video\/","url_meta":{"origin":148200,"position":0},"title":"Blue Dasher Dragonfly Photo And Video","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm a bird photographer who sometimes can't resist photographing other things with wings which includes this male Blue Dasher dragonfly I saw yesterday morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Blue Dasher Dragonflies"","block_context":{"text":"Blue Dasher Dragonflies","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/blue-dasher-dragonflies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Blue Dasher dragonfly at Sequoyah NWR, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-9895.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/blue-dasher-dragonfly-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-9895.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Lotus","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/american-lotus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Eastern Pondhawk on a lotus leaf, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/sequoyah-nwr-eastern-pondhawk-dragonfly-male-mia-mcpherson-9584.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/sequoyah-nwr-eastern-pondhawk-dragonfly-male-mia-mcpherson-9584.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/sequoyah-nwr-eastern-pondhawk-dragonfly-male-mia-mcpherson-9584.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/common-whitetail-dragonfly-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-2739.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/common-whitetail-dragonfly-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-2739.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/common-whitetail-dragonfly-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-2739.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/common-whitetail-dragonfly-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-2739.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":154972,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/09\/09\/female-eastern-pondhawk-dragonfly-on-a-dew-covered-lotus-leaf\/","url_meta":{"origin":148200,"position":3},"title":"Female Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly On A Dew Covered Lotus Leaf","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I was delighted to photograph a female Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly on a dew covered lotus leaf at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Eastern Pondhawks"","block_context":{"text":"Eastern Pondhawks","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/eastern-pondhawks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult female Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly on a dew covered lotus leaf, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/eastern-pondhawk-female-lotus-mia-mcpherson-7352.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/eastern-pondhawk-female-lotus-mia-mcpherson-7352.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/eastern-pondhawk-female-lotus-mia-mcpherson-7352.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/eastern-pondhawk-female-lotus-mia-mcpherson-7352.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":131546,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/07\/30\/lifer-flag-tailed-spinyleg-dragonfly-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":148200,"position":4},"title":"Lifer Flag-tailed Spinyleg Dragonfly Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, I took lifer Flag-tailed Spinyleg dragonfly images while walking a road with my friend Steve Creek.","rel":"","context":"In "Flag-tailed Spinyleg Dragonflies"","block_context":{"text":"Flag-tailed Spinyleg 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2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":129942,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/07\/02\/slaty-skimmer-dragonfly-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":148200,"position":5},"title":"Slaty Skimmer Dragonfly Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I took photos of Slaty Skimmer dragonflies the other day at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma and wanted to share them with you all.","rel":"","context":"In "American Lotus"","block_context":{"text":"American Lotus","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/american-lotus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lotus flower bud and male Slaty Skimmer dragonfly, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, 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