Dragonflys

[Loritx]

My pond is about 2 months old now. Water finally cleared and all kinds of wildlife are starting to enjoy it!  Birds are bathing in the stream - I have been sitting in the sunroom alot trying to get some photos!  Yesterday the Dragonflys started coming arround - mostly small plain brown ones.  Then this HUGE Blue one showed up and I got this photo of it!  All I can say is WOW my new camera works well even on zoom!!  I dont think I have ever taken a picture so Perfect!!  The sun was shining and I think my Flash was on 'redeye' so it went off and the way the wings just sparkled!  Now if only I could get good pictures of my flowers and lilies - I just can not take a really good flower shot!!

[GAjen]

Nice shot!

[bunny56lbc]

Don't ya just love those dargonflys ....
Nice picture
bonnie

[the Julles]

Dang it!  MY pond's YEARS old, and the dragonflys don't come any more... not since the koi got bigger.

Our arboretum is having a talk on dragonflies this coming Sunday.  I'm gonna go.  I just love 'em.

[perplexed ponder]

That's really nice!! I've had them zipping around this spring, but haven't seen them at the pond. I think I don't have enough tall plants yet.
Last year i got some shots of a blue one like that up close on macro setting. It sat there and let me take about 30 shots!
Try macro for your flowers too.

[Shae]

Great pic! I love the dragonflies too. Haven't seen any yet this year, but they were all around last year.

[Rocmon]

"Build it and they will come." A new pond with all the wildlife that shows up is so exciting... Soon there will babies of all that stuff dropping by or growing up in your pond.   

.....The more you look the more you'll see.

[Ky Kim]

Great shot there.  Dragonfly's are one of my most favorite things.  I love watching them, and I also like collecting things with them on it. 

Kim

[charlotteda]

Great shot !

[the Julles]

Our arboretum had a talk today on dragonflies.  I learned a good bit.

I went all prepared to whine about how the dragonflies never come to my yard anymore, when, this morning while feeding the fish, here came not one but two - a pair - of those bright day-glow orange neon dashers or whatever they're called!!  I was thrilled.

But our lecturer said that having koi in the pond is one way to NOT have dragonflies.  He said "fish" don't seem to make a difference, as fish occur in ponds naturally, and natural ponds have plenty of dragonflies.  But koi are so big and so aggressive (and apparently so successful at snapping up dragonflies) that they will keep the insects from visiting your pond.

He also said that dragonflies are going to hang somewhere where they can reproduce, not where their eggs and larvae are likely to be eaten.  So, the pair by my pond must have been fairly young (they only live weeks, or maybe months, depending on species), and were not at this time hunting a place to mate.  When they do, they will surely go to a safer body of water to lay their eggs.

But it was cool to see them today!   

[LeeAnne151]

Build a small pond with no fish for wildlife. I put several small liner ponds in my front yard as it is full sun and they have far more wildlife than the big pond in the backyard that has goldfish. There are hundreds of tadpoles and dragonflies zipping around and the water is full of all sorts of aquatic insects and life that I can't identify. Need to call Wetbug to come over and tell me. I use Mosquito Dunks and don't have problems with mosquitoes. I put dirt on top of the liner and planted miniature/small waterlilies right in the dirt and these ponds have been really fascinating.

[perplexed ponder]

Leann, that sounds really cool!

I have koi in my pond and I get alot of dragonflies around. They land on plants and on my frog spitter. We see them daily. They probably don't mate here, but the larvae eat small fish, so that's o.k.

I bet you'll see more of them.