My Garden Pond - White-legged Damselfly

I was just sunning myself in the heat of the afternoon when the flutter of wings of a Damselfly caught my eye... It came to rest next to #MyGardenPool and eventually I relocated after fetching the camera and managed a few shots, clearly a pale immature insect and I knew at a glance it wasn't a garden resident - it was a White-legged Damselfly. Probably having made its maiden flight from the Rea Brook which is one 600m or so down the road...

Difficult to sex but in view of what appear to be claspers, a (probable) immature male...

This close up shows the bristly hairs on the legs which are used to grasp prey...

And a new species for the pond!

My Garden Pond - Teneral Large Red Damselfly test

I've had plenty of time to keep an eye on the garden pond lately and haven't noted a single Dragon or Damsel emerging. Well today my luck was in as I found a freshly emerged male Large Red Damselfly, tucked down in the leafy pond vegetation...

Here he comes...

And eventually reaching the top of the stems...

All the time drying those wings out!

A close up to finish ...

My Garden Pond - Teneral Large Red Damselfly

I've had plenty of time to keep an eye on the garden pond lately and haven't noted a single Dragon or Damsel emerging. Well today my luck was in as I found a freshly emerged male Large Red Damselfly, tucked down in the leafy pond vegetation...

Here he comes...

And eventually reaching the top of the stems...

All the time drying those wings out!

A close up to finish ...

My Garden Pond - Large Red Damselfly

What a start! After absolutely no Damselflies at all during the past month, a pair of Azure Damsels yesterday and now a pair of Large Red Damselfly show up! These are always the first Damsel species to emerge but they have taken their time to get to me!

These are easy to identify in Shropshire. They are the only 'likely' red coloured damsel in the county but watch this space, one day there may be small reds?

Coupling in the 'tandem' position they were flitting from flower to various leafy perches...

Before egg laying commenced!

Hmm, that's not a good idea - the eggs may perish in the heat of the sun!

But yes, success here - underneath the lily pads will do nicely! Here's hoping for a 'hatch' of my own in 2021?

 

As if to say "Do you mind"!

 As ever, there's more at The Hobby Good Food Guide