Dragonflies in and around the Pond

The Pond attracts many species of dragonfly and damselfly. This is the male Ebony Jewelwing with his iridescent body. This little blue damselfly has just emerged from the cast-off skin. This blue-grey damselfly is now laying her eggs on top of this submerged lily pad. Her nymphs will live on little underwater creatures - sometimes tiny fish but maybe baby mosquitoes!



This big darner was hiding out for the day. By dusk it will be flying above the pond to pick off mosquitoes and other flying insects. Another darner, this time the common green darner, hiding in the midday sun. A red autumn meadowhawk resting on a dry stem. And finally a common whitetail.



I can't leave this section without introducing this character. It is one of the hoverfly family, I saw her on April 15, 2016 flying around the pond and dipping her rear end into the shallow water near the edge of the pond. Like the dragonflies, her babies grow up underwater. They eat "submerged plant litter". In other words, they help to keep the pond clean. As the summer goes on, you will see many different insects making this dipping motion as they lay their eggs, one per dip, it seems. Mosquitoes and craneflies are good examples.

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