Tuesday 10 August 2010

Midweek Blues, ABC Wednesday D is for Damselfly








Fancying myself a Time and Motion expert I'm using my time efficiently this week and combining two memes. (Believe it if you like ;-}) So my humble thanks go in two directions - to Rebecca at 'The Dusty Cellar' and to Denise and her Diligent Devotees for ABC Wednesday.
Our garden pond attracts a lot of wildlife. Birds drink from it and bathe in it, frogs and newts procreate in it, water boatmen (backswimmers) and pond skaters skim the water, dragonflies and damselflies hawk around it catching small insects and then lay their eggs on the water plants.
This year we have seen very few Common Blue Damselflies (Enallagma cyathigerum) so were pleased to have captured this one earlier in the summer.
Damselflies are generally smaller than dragonflies and have a weaker flight. When resting the wings of most damselflies are held parallel to the body. Dragonflies rest with wings outstretched.
The male Common blue damselfly is always blue but the female may be blue or dull green. It is common throughout Europe though noticeably absent from Iceland. It is so graceful and swift in the air and lands to mate and lay eggs. In common with dragonflies it cannot walk.
Next year we plan to add a small raised pond which will drain into the large pond but not have fish in it. This way we hope to increase the potential for wildlife.

36 comments:

  1. The Damselflies are lovely and seem to glow in the sunlight. Great choice for D Day.

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  2. I had no idea that they couldn't walk. I suppose they don't need to really! My pond has dried up-and I am hoping it is the run of extrememly dry weather, and not that it has a leak. There are still frogs in it though.
    Yes-my cats love to eat spiders-though often leave the legs-too crunchy maybe. Cassie was watching me through the door the whole time I was leaping around trying to catch the big hairy monsters in my spider hoover-She was not allowed out yesterday so couldn't help me! Today is her first day back to freedom, but she has been victimising a frog which I had to save as it was screaming!

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  3. Thank you, Gramma Ann :-)
    Ooh Sarah - frogs really have a piercing scream, don't they? Our pond does have a leak - we think it's a misplaced rock and has to be topped up every now and then; not today though, with heavy rain overnight and through the day.

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  4. Beautiful photos.

    When we installed a pond that brought us the interesting insects like the ones you show. It also increased our bird visits, especially after I added a fountain.

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  5. Michael - it's a constant source of interest, isn't it? Movement, light, sound, wildlife - couldn't be better :-)

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  6. What wonderful and beautiful captures, Janice! I love the dragonflies! Great post for the day as always! Hope your week is going well! Enjoy!

    Sylvia

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  7. Lovely images :) a blue glow of sorts on the damselflies.. :)

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  8. What a beautiful creature. Didn't know they couldn't walk...we have downsized and I miss our pond....

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  9. Beautiful creatures and thanks for the info on how to identify the difference between damsel and dragon. Didn't know before.

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  10. Loved your photos - I don't think we have damselflies here in the western US. The dragonflies are orange here, not the pretty blue hue of your damsels; it doesn't look like they're in distress!

    Thanks for visiting and commenting too on my doggie post - btw, I really enjoyed reading the story of yours and your guest canines! Your one year old is just as cute as can be.

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  11. Such beautiful photos! I'm always fascinated by damselflies

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  12. Love your damselflies, how nice to have them in your garden. I've never thought of them in the context of walking, or rather not walking, must have been too mesmerised by their flying.

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  13. Beautiful damselfly and looking forward to your dragonflies next year when the new pond addition is there!

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  14. Delightful D Day photos.

    Dani.

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  15. Nice pics.

    But I especially love being a devotee, esp a diligent one!

    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  16. Well how very interesting.. I learn so much from visiting ABC Wed. blogs. The photos are wonderful!

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  17. I liked your damselflies. You took some very nice pictures of them. I read up on them in Wikipedia.
    I discovered that they mate in a fashion similar to our 'love bugs' here in the states but they look nothing alike.
    Happy MW Blues!
    ..

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  18. What an entrancing pondage system you are creating. I know you concentrated upon Damselflies but I like the sound of the Waterboatmen.
    Now to go and check out this 'Dusty Cellar' of which you speak.

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  19. Wonderful photos - those bodies look like jewelry - the fine lines and turquoise. Beautiful.

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  20. Beautiful, fascinating photos! The wings seem to shimmer in the light! Gorgeous creatures!

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  21. The damsel flies are such a pretty shade. They used to visit my garden pond (when I had one). A

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  22. Lovely photos. I've always enjoyed watching damselflies and dragonflies at our pond when I was a kid. I'm sure that you'll see a lot more wildlife with the new pond, fish don't co-exist well with many species in small ponds.
    You asked about dholes and whether they can breed with dogs: I really doubt it. It would be possible if they belonged to the same genus (like tigers and lions), but even then it's not really likely.

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  23. Beautiful shots of this dragonfly!

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  24. Thank you for that info...I never knew the difference between the two! I've seen lots of dragon flies this year...I'll have to watch for a damsel fly.

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  25. Great post and thanks for explaining the difference between the damsels and dragons. They are so magical to me when I see them around.

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  26. Wow! Dragonflies are hard to caputre. Nice job!

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  27. What an informative post! Thanks for that info!
    I love the photos - so delicate and detailed!

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  28. What a gorgeous neon blue!

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  29. Oh, lucky you! We have very little wildlife in our pond, because of the fish! They eat everything that breeds in water - except frogs and newts, but we don't have those, because they can't breed there, because ... the fish eat the young!

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  30. Great shots! They look very similar to damselflies we have here in Ontario.

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  31. I love watching them flit about! You have captured them wonderfully!

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