Does anyone know much about dragonflies? This guy (or girl?) has been in this exact position for 24 hours now. I thought it was dead and wanted to keep it, but when I tried to scrape it off it's legs moved. It was cool last night but got up low '70's today.
Debra
I would like to find out more about dragonflies also. It is only two or three times a year that we get a dragonfly in our garden even though we are less than three miles from Lake Perris.
Thanks for sharing,
Chuck
Oh, Debra, I love the dragonflies! He looks like a Common Green Darner.....the males have the bullseye on their head and their tail has 2 long appendages. I'm not sure why he's been resting there so long....maybe the temps, maybe he hasn't been open very long. After they emerge, their wings have to inflate and they are ready to fly the next day. Great pic!
Same guy, just a different exposure that shows off his beautiful colors.
He is beautiful, I'm thinking now that he hasn't emerged long, because the immature males have the brick red abdomen like his.
Debra - I have a feeling that the cold temps at night have slowed him down. Hopefully he'll recover soon and fly off! He's a beaut!
I have some small container ponds in my yard and last year I had a LOT of dragonflies. I had to wear gloves when working in the water containers because the larvae of the dragonfly have some jaws that can bite you. They are really, really ugly as larvae, but are so beautiful as adults. Here is a photo I took in the Fall last year. I like to go out in my backyard late at night with a flashlight to see what I can find. I just happened upon a newly morphed dragonfly. You can see the shed larvae skin right next to it! Apparently they are white when they change from larvae to dragonfly. In the morning when the sun hits them, they turn to their beautiful adult colors. This is one of my favorite photos. I got really lucky that night!!!
Great shot, Becky. Glad to know about their 'jaws', too. Didn't know that! Do the adults bite? Will they eat my aphids and other 'bad bugs'? I'm envious of your lotus. I'd like to try growing one.
fly_girl, if he just emerged - he sure is big! He's probably 4" plus.
We see dragonflies at our big pond but don't know much about them. Should be seeing them at our new courtyard garden pond this year. This guy is on a tree lantana in the courtyard. I'm trying to create a humming bird and butterfly haven. Will be interesting to see what else shows up. We had a symphony of frogs last night. Am afraid the frogs will attract snakes as it gets warmer. We will have to watch our step - lots of copperheads and water moccasins around here.
That's neat Becky, I've never seen them white like that. Great photo!
We hear the frog symphonies every night too...sometimes it's really hard to sleep.
I have goldfish in my pond so I don't know if any dragonfly larvae make it, but I see them lay eggs in it all the time.
I'll have to watch for that. Our new goldfish and koi haven't acclimated to the pond yet. We got them Sunday and they haven't eaten any fish food yet - at least not from the surface - maybe what falls to the bottom. They stay hidden all the time. That would be fun to see them eat larvae.
You know, I was thinking maybe dragonflies are like butterflies. When bfs eclose they are their full adult size and won't grow anymore. Maybe the dragonflies are like that too.
I've read the larvae survive better if there's a lot of submerged foliage where they can hide. My pond is black on the bottom so it's hard to see anything but bright fish!
We have different dragonflies here (they are blue, blue blue!) but they start off tiny and grow, a baby was resting on a rug I had laid out to dry earlier today, now I wish I had taken a picture.
Great pictures of the Common Green Darner (Anax junius) fleursdefouquet.
Perhaps you could add them to BugFiles here: http://davesgarden.com/bf/go/371/
Well, our little friend left today. He was there this morning before I left the house but was gone this afternoon. I noticed his abdomen didn't appear to have as much color as it did before - not as red. Maybe he will come back for a visit!
fly, I need to study up on both butterflies and dragonflies!
Red, the blue ones are sooooo pretty. Probably my favorites.
Thanks, Kennedy. I've never posted to BugFiles before but will give it a go!
BTW.....I have to give credit to my DH for the photos. He's the one who discovered him to begin with and took the photos.
Debra
He did a great job with the pictures - really amazing!
Hi Red! Haven't heard from you in a while! I did some more research and you're right, they do emerge small and grow very quickly.
Debra, I'm so glad he left, was hoping he wasn't sick.
My fave dragonfly book is.....'A Dazzle of Dragonflies', it has some great info and pics.
Your DH did take some fabulous pics!
Great thread . . . and awesome shots :)
In addition to the info on Dragonflies here in the growing BugFiles section, you can also find a lot of ref images and loads of information on BugGuide.net. http://www.BugGuide.net
Thanks for share'n,
GD :)
Nice shot!
Hey fly girl ! thank-you, I was just guessing from what I've seen around my yard,
Thanks for the links everyone. I'll be doing some dragonfly research this week!
