Any Day Now!

With the Easter holidays now here and 2 weeks off work, I am hoping for a bit of warm sunshine and the beginning of the dragonfly season to begin. Weather permitting we should see the first Large Red Damselflies and Hairy Dragonflies emerging in the next few weeks. I have been rearing a few Large Red Damselflies in one of my tanks at home and have noticed of an evening when I go to check them in the darkness by light, that a few of them have their heads out of the water. This I believe is the process of changing their breathing over from underwater to air and is a sure sign that emergence is not too far away. The last few nights I have watched one Large Red Damselfly nymph climb fully out of the water and sit out for ages at a time. This has given me the chance to study some of the changes that are going on inside. The eye colour is clearly changing, the wing buds have lifted from the back and the abdomen is clearly turning more red by the day. I went to work today thinking it may emerge but thankfully on arrival back today, it was still in position near the stick in which I hope it climbs up and emerges from. This gave me a few chances to take a number of shots showing some of the features I have mentioned and any day now, maybe tomorrow, this little nymph which has probably spent 2 years underwater will make the journey and emerge as an adult Large Red Damselfly. Here's hoping I can be there when this magical moment happens and capture the process on the camera.

Large Red Damselfly Nymph