During the Christmas holidays and with the weather mild, I had an hour or so checking my garden pond to see if I could locate any dragonfly or damselfly nymphs. I soon caught a few Azure Damselfly nymphs but was most pleased when checking the net on one occasion to see a Hairy Dragonfly nymph hiding in there. I introduced a couple of this species into the pond last October and hoped they would grow and hopefully emerge this May where I aim to hopefully capture the emergence in a sequence of shots. This dragonfly symbolizes the beginning of the season for me and is one of my targets to photograph as it adult life begins. I decided to not waste the opportunity and take a few photos of the near fully grown nymph in my indoor tank. With leaves already soaked and ready to go and water already in the tank, I spent an hour in the warm conservatory taking a number of pleasing photos. Settings used for this session were manual mode, ISO 400, speed set to 250, f11-f16 and in camera flash. After finishing it was just nice to sit back and watch the nymph and take in some of the fabulous detail they have to offer. The nymph was returned back to the water where hopefully it will spend the next few months and fingers crossed, we may be reunited in mid/late May where I can watch and photograph the emergence.
Hairy Dragonfly Nymph
Good for you and a garden pond. Magnificent series Marc.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Bob.
DeleteThese are exquisite,superb captures,we can't wait for the year to begin.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Marc.
John and Sue.
Many thanks. Like you, I can't wait for the season to arrive.
DeleteCool dragonfly nymph:)
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Anne.
DeleteFantastic set. Still not even seen and hairy dragonfly nymph!
ReplyDeleteThanks Neil. Always distinctive in that when you get them, they always fold their legs into their bodies which can make them hard to see.
DeleteIt's great to see your superb images of this dragonfly nymph, Marc. They're made all the more special for me as I saw and photographed my first ever Hairy Dragonfly in 2015 - I didn't realise it at the time but they're still rather uncommon in this neck of the woods. I'm very much looking forward to starting the 2016 season with a search for this species.
ReplyDeleteA question - when moving the nymphs from pond to tank, and then back to pond, do you have to be careful about temperature differences?
Best wishes - - Richard
Many thanks Richard. A good question and one which I have thought of too. I do make sure the temperature is similar to the pond and as the water in the tank is in the conservatory, it does keep pretty chilled.
Delete