News from the pond

My new meadow pond hasn't featured on this blog before but now there is news.  The pond was dug at the beginning of last year and is designed specifically for dragonflies.  It is shallow, in full sun and is in the middle of the meadow (which also hasn't featured on the blog but will do soon). Now at last I have exciting visitors, broad-bodied chasers, which are often the first dragonflies to visit a new pond.  At the beginning of the month I saw this male.

And a week ago a female.

Then three days ago a male and a female sitting on the same stick less than an hour apart.  Now I just need them both to turn up at the same time, although it may already have happened.

Last year I did see an occasional damselfly in the meadow and a few common darters in late summer but that was all.  There were obviously more than that because this year there are dozens of damselflies emerging from the pond and flying around the meadow (damselflies take only one year to develop whereas dragonflies take two or more).  This is a male large red damselfly.

And a male azure damselfly.

And this is a newly-emerged azure damselfly next to its exuvia (larval skin), preparing to take its first flight.

And an ovipositing pair of azure damselflies making sure I will have more next year.

If you look very carefully you may be able to make out the dragonfly at the top of the stick in the centre of the photo.