Dragonfly on my Runner Beans

TimmyMagic

So, I was picking my runner beans this morning (first crop was yesterday) and I got a bit of a surprise when I spotted this magnificent dragonfly:
 


It was not moving so I went and got my phone to take a photo. It stayed there for several minutes and I gently prodded its tail more than once with a runner bean, yet there was no response. I thought it might be dead. When I looked a minute or so later, it was gone. Was it just sleeping? 

Ceres

That's a stunningly beautiful insect.

Lyn

It’s  lovely, have you got a pond for her to lay her eggs in?
i haven’t got any beans on my plants yet, just flowers, well done on your crop. 

TimmyMagic

Lyn said:

It’s  lovely, have you got a pond for her to lay her eggs in?
i haven’t got any beans on my plants yet, just flowers, well done on your crop. 

No pond, but the Grand Union Canal is 20 metres away and there's a lake about 200 metres away. Hopefully she goes and lays them in the lake!

I have three 'A-Frames' with runner beans but only one is ready for picking. The other two are a bit behind... one with small beans growing, the other just the flowers. So lots more to come! 

 

cornelly

Have you been able to identify, to me it looks like a common darter.

TimmyMagic

cornelly said:

Have you been able to identify, to me it looks like a common darter.

No, but thanks for that as you're probably right... having just looked at Wikipedia. It seems like it was a male dragonfly and rather than sleeping, it was waiting for prey. Wikipedia also says:

"It is one of the easiest dragonflies to photograph".

I'd preferred to have read that only world class photographers have the ability to photograph such rare species, but oh well.