emerging dragonflies - yes, that's plural!!

[thedahlialama]

most of you saw my pic of the emerging dragonfly in one of my other posts. the next day i was out getting some trade packages packed and sent off when i found these two dragonflies in the same spot as the one the day before!!

[thedahlialama]

i then went to the post office and sent the packages on their way to some folks here. when i came back i found our pair like this -

[thedahlialama]

i waited quite a while for that last drop of moisture to drip off but finally i had to stand up. the second i did, the dragonfly flew away and landed in a nearby bougainvillea for a short rest. i must say that i really felt blessed to witness this event.

[Julles]

Oh, those are totally TOTALLY cool!  Prolly a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see that!  THANKS for posting the pics.  And for sitting there all that time to take them.

Qu:  Are you saying it took TWO DAYS for the adults to emerge?? I'm surprised Mother Nature would allow that, as they would be sitting ducks to be eaten by any old creature that came along.

[thedahlialama]

no, just took a couple of hours or less. i saw one that i got a few shots of one day and posted along with some lily pics. then the next day i found the other 2 that you see here. i kinda wish i had sat there to see the whole thing but like i said, i left and came back between the first set of pics here and the second. i probably wasn't gone more than 15-20 minutes. after the one flew off i went back to other yard work and got distracted. by the time i rechecked the other one, it had gone as well.

here's the first one i posted just for anyone who missed it -

[Julles]

What do you have in the bottom of your pond?  Is it mud?  I understand they need to burrow into muck and such, and stay there up to two years, depending on species, in order to metamorphasize. 

I really, really want some to inhabit my pond, live here, and breed here.

[Kittyzee]

Wonderful pics of a great moment, I've never been priviledged to witness that.  I would imagine that my fish eat their larvae, or I'm just not at the right place at the right time.

[miguynmkoi]

Kittyzee like your new pic 

Awesome photos of the dragonflies.  I haven't had any like that in a couple of years - but then again I haven't had time to pond either.  That's changing now though 

How fortunate you are to have witnessed the transformation AND have many dragonflies around your pond 

[mascot]

that's really kewl!  When I first found one crawling around in a pond I had no idea what it was and took a picture and asked.  I almost got rid of it but decided to wait and see...glad I did, now I love finding them around!

[goldenangel]

Julles - I don't know much about dragonflies but I don't do anything special for them.  I just have a liner bottom with no gravel or mud and mine overwinter along with the fish in the bottom.  I would guess that they burrow into some of the plants as well.  A pond IMO isn't complete without a few dragonflies flying around.  They really are neat to watch.  I noticed that this year I have 3 or 4 different kinds inhabiting my pond.

[thedahlialama]

What do you have in the bottom of your pond?  Is it mud?  I understand they need to burrow into muck and such, and stay there up to two years, depending on species, in order to metamorphasize. 

I really, really want some to inhabit my pond, live here, and breed here.

Julles - these have all come up from one of my sunken tubs that i just put in last summer. in fact the tub ponds will be exactly a year old sometime this month. the tub has 2 lilies in rectangular shaped plastic containers. i just used the same soil that came out of the holes i dug to plant the lilies in. it's very clay based. nothing special at all. i'm sure the fact that there aren't any fish in the tubs helps.

"it's not very far away, if we ride on dragonflies..." - Jimi Hendrix, Spanish Castle Magic

[miguynmkoi]

Hey!!  I like the Hendrix quote