Dragonfly?
RubyLeaf
Posts: 248
^What dragonfly is this and whats it doing? Its come to our garden 2 years in a row. It kept doing this for a while. My first thought was egg laying but it was July, and its in a small port by the pond.
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RubyLeaf
Posts: 248
Posts
Female Southern Hawker. Egg laying as you thought (or at least probing for a suitable site). These always lay their eggs above the water, typically in moss covered logs or stones.
How wonderful to capture it in a photograph, it's a beauty!
It was there for roughly 20 minutes or so. Managed to get a few great snaps!
I guess the dragonfly is attracted to my garden because of the pond, but its a fish pond with moving water. (as far as I'm aware they prefer still water). But worry not, I'm inspired to make a small wildlife container pond. I hope that'll do..
Here's a couple, 'coupling'. Same species. I caught them in the act,They flew off, still coupled. How skillful is that?! H-C
Southern Hawker is a very common species and will breed quite well in small garden ponds. It might well breed in a fish pond if there are enough plants for the larvae to hide in and escape being eaten.
The pair in Hortum-cretae's photo are Emperor Dragonfly, with a continuous stripe down the back rather than rings.
You're right, I didn't read carefully enough! They're properly identified in my files, I promise! What amazed me is how they managed to fly still coupled. I suppose it's like the starling flocks and their co-ordination. Seriously looking forward to sunny days again. Freezing here and no let up yet.
H-C
I never saw it inspect the plants in the pond (which provide good cover). Still, you never know..