Garden listing incl. Odanata

Odonata sightings have continued throughout this last period, with both Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum), and Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) making one day only appearances on the 18th and 19th of July, respectively.

Common Darter

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Also, on the 18^th Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator) made it on to the garden list when I observed a single male flying over the wildflower lawn. The visit was short-lived, and the dragonfly has not reappeared again since then.

On the 21^st of July when carefully cleaning green algae from New Pond provided an opportunity to observe both damselfly nymphs and a dragonfly nymph cast.

Damselfly nymph

Dragonfly nymph exuvia

Other recent and interesting additions to the garden list have included two stonking flies. The Banded General (Stratiomys potamida) on the 26^th of June, and Dark Giant Horsefly (Tabanus sudeticus) on the 13^th of July.

Banded General

Dark Giant Horsefly

Enter the Dragon .. (Reprise)

It has been a quiet year to date for Odanata in the garden. On the 8th of July a male Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) was noted resting on the Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) at the water-butt pond. It was only seen that once.

On the 1st of August, a Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) was holding territory using the back of the garden chair as a lookout post. This encounter transpired to be an all but brief affair too, with only a single day's activity observed, before it disappeared from the garden.

Throughout this heat-wave, both small ponds have required continous top-up  and much attention has been given to removal by hand, of the filamentous green alga which threatens to completely cover the surface of the ponds.

During the course of one such clearing, I was delighted to find a dragonfly nymph (Sympetrum cf striolatum), in the water-butt pond.

water-butt pond

Azure damselfy

Common Darter

Sympetrum cf striolatum nymph
5th Aug 2022