Spring is technically over. But there's lots of life still bursting open. We headed north yesterday in search of spring dragonflies. Leaving a sunny Perth we soon drove into cooler cloudier weather wondering if we'd made a bad choice! Although there was no action at the ponds when we arrived we soon discovered a few perched newly emerged dragonflies including this White-faced Darter. As the day warmed a bit we saw a larva climb out the pond to start the emergence sequence right before our eyes! The spent case dried and split, then we watched the dragonfly struggle free over a period of a couple of hours (it was a Four-spot Chaser) then hang, slowly inflating it's wings. Isn't nature wonderful! |