Dragonfly

The hairy dragonfly is the first of the dragonflies to emerge. The yellowish spots show the dragonfly in the first image below to be a female and the blue spots show the dragonfly in the second image to be a male.

Four spotted chaser. The first two images below are of a chaser larva which has just emerged from a lake and which is thought to be a four spotted chaser. Had I sat and watched for a few hours I might have witnessed its transformation into the beautiful golden dragonfly.

What a fabulous surprise to find so many four spotted chasers on our walk around the same area the next morning. There must have been a mass emergence. Even more of a surprise was to find this little fella on my elbow. I am told that you can tell this dragonfly has just emerged because it is still green and has not yet taken on its final golden colour.

The next two images show the magnificent golden colouring of the adult form and the four spots which give it its name.

I will add more images as the season progresses.