For Helen

After my post yesterday on the annual return of the Large Red Damselfly to the pond I decided just before midday today, when the sun decided to replace the dismal clouds for a while, to go and clear some of the algae from the pond.  there is something rewarding – like painting the Forth Road Bridge – in knowing that however much you do today there will still be just as much waiting to be done tomorrow.  Anyway as I knelt down and dipped my hand into the water a flurry of Damselflies rose and flew off.   I was irritated by the fact that I hadn’t been aware enough to have seen them first.  However they soon came back, by which time I had my camera in my hand.  I counted three coupling pairs and several others who seemed variously to be chasing the pairs or just being voyeurs.  I was really excited.  Helen’s enthusiasm for  Odonata has rubbed off on me.  And all that’s thanks to CJ for making me so aware of the world of insects in general.

So here are what will probably be the last photos I will ever post on this Blog of Large Red Damselflies – unless, of course, I ever manage to catch some hatching.  I wonder if they do hatch in my pond.

Is that a grin on their faces?

Annual Event

Last year I said that I thought that was the first time I’d seen a Damselfly (a Large Red in this case) in the garden.  It wasn’t.  So far since my pond has become established I’ve seen one each June – and blogged a photo.  This year it was slightly later than the previous two years.  In this photo it has alighted on some dried algae – the bane of my pond. 

By The Pond

I was contemplating the pond yesterday morning when a Large Red Damselfly landed at my feet. Magically it didn't move when I went into the Study for my camera. So far as I can recall it's the first one I've seen in the garden (although CJ saw one last year).

Damselfly

This is the first Damselfly I've seen in the garden - a Large Red. Presumably it was attracted here by the pond.