Tuesday, 17 June 2014

Four-spotted chasers

The only dragonflies I have seen at the pond so far this year are Four-spotted Chasers (Libellula quadrimaculata) but there have been lots of them.  They spend most of their time flying at high speed with the males fighting and defending territories.  In flight they are difficult to photograph but these are a couple of my best efforts.



They do rest occasionally and are then easier to photograph.  The male and female look very similar.



Mating takes place in flight at high speed and is very brief and extremely difficult to photograph.  This is my best effort.


Immediately after mating the female flies down to the water to lay her eggs, defended above by her mate providing what the RAF would call close air support to fight off other males.





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