I'm posting the photo again of the Dragonfly that was emerging late last night. It was colorless at the time. It climbed up on my waterlily to emerge and you can see the shell left behind next to it.
Dragonflies
This the photo of the same Dragonfly after the sun hit it in the morning. It started moving around and getting color. Cute litle guy!
Unfortunately, we had really cold weather last night and the wind was whipping, so I don't know if the little Dragonfly will make it. I had to remove it from the pond and put it on a vine because he fell in the pond. But his color darkened even more as the sun warmed him. As you might be able to see his wings are not straight, but curled at the ends. So I'll be checking on him throughout the day to see if he flies away.
Becky,
The photos are great!! I treasure my dragonflies also. Before I lived in Perris, I thought that dragonflies only lived where there was water. I am not so sure if that is true now. We live three miles away from Lake Perris and we get dragonflies all the time during the summer. What about the rest of you?
Thanks for sharing, Becky,
Chuck
Dragonflies lay their eggs in water....I've seen the females bump the surface laying her eggs all over my pond. I'm sure they travel away from ponds, mating, looking for food, showing everyone how beautiful they are, just having a good old time.
Becky, it's weird, I'm so used to looking at chrysalises, the first thing I noticed was that exosceleton has legs....lol
The greatest book on dragonflies is called 'A Dazzle of Dragonflies", it's fantastic.
Chuck - I used to get them where I grew up and the only water source for miles was a shallow ditch. We had hundreds of them! I am not kidding! In my current home, I rarely saw one in my yard until I started my little water garden. Now I have lots of them hanging around my yard. I see lots of the larve swimming around in the bottom of the pond. I didn't know what they were at first and asked someone who knows all that stuff. She told me they were Dragonfly larve. I was so thrilled because I like the Dragonflies too!
Glad everyone is enjoying the photos! I just lucked out on this! It's becoming a thrill for me to go out late at night with my trusty little flashlight and camera and see what I can find! It's a whole new adventure at night! Totally different creatures! Ya'll should try it sometime! :-)
Fly_girl - Yes, that's really interesting that they emerge from the shell leaving the leg casings and all! Just too cool, isn't it?!
I know this is not the water garden forum, but if you love flowers and dragonflies, then a water garden is great to try. This is my first year ever attempting a water garden and I had amazing success with it with very little effort.
This is a photo of my little pond. (I actually have 2 of them.) It is 38" wide by 14" high. I bought it at Home Depot for $29.95. They are both sitting above ground. I use sandbox sand instead of soil in the bottom and fertilize it every 4-6 weeks in the warmer months. I have 4 tropical waterlilies in it currently. The Josephine waterlily blooms white flowers constantly. One of the four is a nightblooming waterlily called Red Flare. And the other 2 waterlilies are Lindsay Woods (purple flowers). I usually have redroot and a Dwarf Sweet Flag in the pond also for vertical effect. But i moved them to the other pond recently to add some coverage for 4 different "Hardy" waterlilies I also got a Home Depot for about $7.00 a piece. They were baby plants with no leaves and are now growing lily pads and rooting very nicely.
Just lovely!! Dragonflies are so cool! Seeing one emerge is the coolest! We need them to eat the mosquitos here. Such excellent gardener friends.:-)
Hey Becky, psst.. I got my Bday present 12 days early (on your Bday, lol)... Kev got me a new Camera today. I had an S1, the new one is an S3..Canon.
wow!!!!!!!! Becky that is a awesome shot
trois - I saw your great little water garden on the other thread. How cold did it get last winter in your area? Did the lily pads die off during the winter? This is my first winter with water lilies and I don't know what to expect. Do you know the name of your beautiful waterlily?
There are one or two butterflies that use some of the water plants as a host plant. I don't remember which plants or butterflies. The white peacock butterfly might be one of them. Which is one of the reasons I got into water gardening. But I also LOVE the waterlily blooms. First time I saw one - it just knocked my socks off!!! I would love to grow a lotus, but don't know if I have the room for a plant that gets that huge! lol But the blooms are some of the most beautiful of all flowers anywhere that I have ever seen!
Deb - Nice camera! How sweet of your dh! So your birthday is Nov. 30th?? I agree about the usefulness of the Dragonflies! They do a good job of eating the smaller bugs. And unfortunately, sometimes our butterflies and cats. But I don't know if that is common food for them?
We have a number of these pots and will add more this winter. Last winter there was a thin skim of ice on the pot, and it lost some leaves. It was blooming again in a few weeks. We have had this one for several years and don't know the name.
We grow lotus and made a mistake. They should be planted in a large pot or half barrel so you can tend them better. In the dirt in a fairly large pond it will attempt to cover the entire area, and this makes feeding a problem.
The nice thing about container gardining is you can smell the flowers without wading, and it is much easier to tend.
trois - Is your waterlily a tropical or hardy? I was told that tropicals will completely die if the water temps get down below 40 degrees. Though the hardy varieties can handle severe cold water as long as the water doesn't completely freeze. Love your little pots! Do you mind if I ask you where you got them at? I have not seen anything like those pots locally. Perfect size for one waterlily! Love it!!!
This message was edited Nov 18, 2006 5:34 PM
Tropicals stand up out of the water, hardies bloom at water level. This is a tropical. We did lose a blue tropical last winter.
There is a local fellow that goes to Mexico a couple of times a year and brings back what you order.
Well, I don't know if this little fella is going to make it. I found him still on the vine before sundown. I know it's getting cold tonight, so the "mother" in me decided I would put him in one of my butterfly cages overnight and try again to release him tomorrow. It's wings are not straight, but wavy. So I hope he'll be able to fly! He may not make it. ;'-(
Here's a photo of him sitting on my finger. Beautiful pattern and color on his body. "My what BIG eyes you have", said the spider to the fly! lol
I'm not sure how long it takes them to inflate their wings, he is so interesting, I hope he makes it.
In that book it mentions a student observed a swarm of Spot-winged Gliders, Wandering Gliders, and Red Saddlebags that was at least 40 miles long, he thought they were migrating.
This forum should be butterflies, dragonflies and hummers :)
Glad you started a new thread, but you didn't tell me! I almost missed it! ;) And I'm so glad you posted a pic of your water pond because I had envisioned a giant pond. This, I can do! (It's not big enough for my son to get in!) That would be so exciting if I could have dragonflies hatch here too!!
I've never read on any forum about anyone "raising" dragonflies. ?? You might be on to something new here! I don't even have any idea if dragonflies morph from something else or just start out as they are. LOL! It's ok, laugh with me! I might not have paid any attention in school but it's never too late. :)
I agree FlyG, we should add dragonflies to the title. Or do we have an insect forum? (speaking of, I don't know whether to put butterfly pics in the insect category of the photo contest...they aren't insects to me) I have a butterfly and a dragonfly tattoo and the weird thing is I got both before I got into gardening!
I don't think of dragonflies as insects either...they're too cute lol
They can molt 10 to 15 times, with 12 being the average, but can fluctuate within a species, due to weather of environment. As a larva it had begun its life as a predator, even thought it's microscopic. The larva looks a lot like that exoskeleton picture Becky has.
I think that would be the reason it would be hard to raise them is because they are carnivorous.
OH! Now you are really going to laugh at me... I didn't know that thing next to it was an exoskeleton! I just glanced at it and thought it was another bug! WEIRD!
And the larva are carnivorous? Well, I guess that makes sense because they eat mosquitoes. Verrrryyy interesting. I really want a little pond now to "grow" my own. Mosquitoes are my arch enemy!
They would have plenty fo food around here in Summer what with all the mosquitos. They gobble up thousands of them a day. Paige thats a great idea for your garden, a small one. Anyone have a short list on how to set one up that would be cool. I'm thinking Criniums, Texas Star, and other kinds of water-loving plants. Will clear pond enzymes affect the larvae? Guess Koi are out of the question, they would leap up and nab the dragonflies..
I have always wanted to have a pond though. Definatly at the next house, unless there is a minimal way to have one here.
Becky,
Great thread!!! I recently started photographing dragonflies...seems where the butterflies are...so too are the dragonflies. I also have a couple of birdbaths/fountains so they like to patrol the yard. Haven't seen a dragonfly emerge before...way cool!!! Have seen the larva in the cattle water troughs back at the ranch and usually find their dried out shells...but your photo gave me my first glimpse into how colorless they are when they come ou!!!
I went on a dragonfly trek last month...Bob Behrstock lead the group...I think we had something like 21 or 27 species...and one new record. I tried going back to the photos I took and tried to match them up to the ones in my dragonfly guide book but I failed miserably!!! Next time I will have to keep a running list to match my photo files :o)
~ Cat
Here's a photo of one I took today at the ranch. This guy was perched on a wire next to a fence post where I'd cut up some oranges and poured a little butterfly bait on. There were lots of flies, bees and a couple of leafwings and emperors...so am thinking this dragonfly was waiting for something to fly by to nab.
Funny Paige....I'm not laughing....really
Fish love mosquito and dragonfly larvae, but the fish to avoid is the mosquito fish, I guess it has an insatiable appetite and eats everything they can catch. Mollies are good because they are more vegetarian than goldfish and eat a lot of algae, but they can't overwinter.
You could try to raise them in an aquarium, but you would have to feed them live food, like, water fleas, white worms, or wingless fruit flies, you might get these at the pet store, or raise mosquito larvae and hope they eat them all. I think it would be harder to raise them than bflies, but rewarding, no doubt.
This is one of my favorite little guys that visit me. I believe it's a male Bluet Damselfly. It's just too cute! (I guess he wouldn't quite appreciate being called that)
This message was edited Nov 18, 2006 7:53 PM
NIce one cat!
I managed to get a few to sit still a minute. There's so many names, shapes, & sizes, I couldn't possibly tell you guys what kind these are. Love these little guys!
edit> According to the dragonfly site this looks like a male Eastern Pondhawk
This message was edited Nov 18, 2006 8:43 PM
I love those little blue ones paige! They're really quick , and hard to take pictures of.
One more of another greenie..
edited to say:
Evidently she's a..Eastern Pondhawk
This message was edited Nov 18, 2006 8:41 PM
This is our king of the pond. We just call him 'big red' but he is really a Neon Skimmer.
I like the greenie! Here is a link that has some great pictures. http://www.dragonflies.org/
Paige, he's pretty
Deb, that could be a Blue Faced Darner, it looks like his face is blue, or a Green Darner. There are so many different kinds.
That's the link to the book I was talking about.
Great Skimmer pic
Thanks Sheila! Great link~
I have a pic of one of those Neon Skimmers,.. Gheese maybe I will learn the names after all, lol. I usually learn about everything I take a picture of, overwhelming curiosity!
They are really huge aren't they! He thinks he owns our pond; always perching on the tallest reeds or flying back and forth.
Here is a larve that I found on one of the pages. It shows the bottom of one, but you can get the general picture.
http://stephenville.tamu.edu/~fmitchel/dragonfly/photo/cw_cga.htm
There's really no insect forum, just bug id and the bug files which doesn't really seem to be a discussion forum. IMO, I think dragonflies belong here, I don't think anyone will complain.
I think so too fly:).. Here in (Butterflies & Hummers), is fine for me. Just like Becky did.
We've had many threads about Dragonflies. I think it's pretty much a given that people who are interested in butterflies and hummers appreciate the Dflies too so surely others would look here for threads about them.
If we were to actually request a name change, would we be discriminating against other insects? What about the bees? the lizards? the moths? ;)
Good grief, gang! I go away to grocery shop for a couple hours and come back and am shocked to see how long this thread suddenly got! I didn't know we had so many Dragonfly lovers here! But that's no surprise to me really. It always seems that anyone who loves butterflies usually loves the Dragonflies, too. :-) Our winged beauties come in many colors, shapes, and sizes!
I did not even think of the dragonflies when I started my little water garden. The dragonflies just found it. I do not have fish in either of my ponds. Nor any fountain or anything circulating the water. It's still water. I just add water every now and again when too much evaporates. I use well water because the salt from my water softener would kill the waterlilies. (Chlorine will, too!) But I do get tadpoles and all kinds of crazy bugs! It's a hoot watching all the action going on in the water! I am soooooo hooooked on water gardening! I couldn't stand it and went out and bought the second one 3 weeks ago! LOL! Fortunately, my husband no longer asks questions. He's afraid to! lol I could sit outside all day by my water gardens and just watch life around and in it. It's the waterlilies that have me hooked though. They are just so beautiful reflecting against the water. Which is why I am stressing over the colder temps. I do NOT want to lose any of my waterlilies! I've got my fingers crossed - trois!
Here's a photo of the other pond. You can better see what it really looks like when it first starts out before the lily pads get big and cover the surface.
And here's what my pond looked like in bloom in September!
I love all the dragonfly photos ya'll are posting! They are such colorful and wildly designed creatures! Yes! I think we need to rename this forum. Maybe we should just call it "Hummers, Butterflies, Dragonflies, and Other Creatures". I like most all the outdoor critters! That's part of what makes gardening so addictive! You never know from day to day what you are going to see and experience! It's forever changing and evolving. And it's just amazingly beautiful .... ALL of it .... plants and critters! Definitely God's signature. :-)
I hate dragonfly nymphs!!! These are the ugliest, creepiest creatures on the face of the earth, and they bite, they can slice your skin right open and it hurts! Any one who is in the area may feel free to pop by and go fishin' for 'em, take all you like, I have plenty. Love the dragonflies, love the damselflies, hate the nymphs. They will give you the heebiegeebies I tell you (damselflies not that bad). Did I say the make my skin crawl? No?........ well, they do!
LOL!! I have handled a few, but haven't gotten bit, but don't like touching them either. Just trying to get them out of my way and save them from being washed away or sucked up when cleaning the pond. I have to keep telling myself how beautiful they will be in the summer.
Ah, pshycological warfare, I see LOL I don't handle them, I'm not that far on the evolutionary scale :-) They creep me out. I'll have my hand in the pond moving plants around or whatever and I'll get bit that way. Never realized what it was I was getting bit by until a year or so ago my MIL told me about a huge one she saw in TX that bit her, said it just sliced right into her and it hurt like the dickens (what is the dickens anyways?), so now I know, mean little bugs.
Becky, I like that name change....Paige you're right...we don't want to leave out those other critters...frogs, lizards, etc.
I have a bit of trivia....in some states the dragonfly is called the 'Dicken's horse', or 'Dickerson's horse', or 'Dickerson's mare', because the early settlers thought the words Dickens and Dickerson were synonomous with the word devil. So, 'hurts like the dicken's' probably means 'hurts like the devil'.
Some Europeans call the dragonfly the 'Devil's horse'.
They are accused of being capable of dastardly deeds and some think they have a poisonous sting, which they don't....don't know about the nymphs.
The name 'snake doctor' is common in southern states because they have seen snake's head protruding above water and dragonflies laying their eggs near them or landing on their heads using it as a perch. This made people think they were 'tending' the snake. Some believe dragonflies are servants of snakes and can revive them from the dead.
Other's call them the 'devil's needle or devil's darning needle'.
Superstitions are interesting and sometimes pretty funny.
azreno - I hear ya! Those nymphs are ugly BAD! (Thanks for reminding me what that stage is called!) I found and captured one of those a couple years ago right after all the flooding from the hurricanes and didn't know what it was. It was so creepy that I brought it to school to show all the boys in my class. They loved it! Thought it was the coolest looking bug they had ever seen! LOL I invited a friend to come take a look who is employed by the state natural wildlife preserve and she is the one who told me what it was. Boy! Was I surprised! Never would've guessed those beautiful dragonflies started out as such U.G.L.Y spuds! And actually, IMHO, if the dragonflies didn't have those wings and the beautiful colors and markings, they'd be pretty ugly and creepy too!
Because I have the advantage of a very small pond, I use those long rubber dishwashing gloves when sticking my hands in there! NO THANK YOU, ma'am! Not sticking my bare hands in places I can't see. I usually just put my hands in to pull out the algae growing in there (from the fertilizer). The algea comes out in big clumps that are usually full of snails (which I pick out and throw back into my pond). My biggest fear is that a water snake found it's way in there. (Though very unlikely to happen because it is above ground and the sides are slick and the pond has a lip around the underside of the edges.) But when you can't see to the bottom, you just never know. Once the algae is cleaned out, the pond is usually pretty clear and I can see the critters moving around in there. Which is the fun part! Quite a show, let me tell ya!!!!
BTW - Dragonflies bite, too, if they feel threatened or are attacked. They have a pretty good sized mouth for an insect. But are usually pretty docile. I would not have had the one on my finger in the photo except I can tell he's not doing so good wasn't show any signs of panic. Just for your information!
This message was edited Nov 19, 2006 10:53 AM