Sculptors in residence

In the shallow part of the Dragonfly Pond I spied some intriguing constructions in the water . . .


. . . was an elfin Andy Goldsworthy at work in our pond?


I remembered seeing tiny constructions, in a stream, that were made by caddis fly larvae – they build little underwater houses to live in. I looked on my bookshelf for an insect book for information . . .


Mmmm? This wasn't going to be easy! Nothing on the page looked exactly like the things in our pond.


I decided to ask BBC Springwatch, they had liked my newt photos when I added them to the Springwatch Flickr page. In a very short time an insect expert had pointed me in the direction of this book . . .


. . . and when it arrived in the post after a couple of days, I quickly found the name of our clever creative builders, Limnephilus flavicornis.


Another amazing creature living in our garden, eating our Duck Weed (they're welcome - chomp away L. flavicornis) and in due course emerging as delicate buff flying insects. Maybe some will lay eggs in the pond edge to start the life-cycle over again? Others might fly higher and become a night-time snack for the local bats? Their lives are part of the biodiversity of our little patch – and that makes me very happy.

Night-time newt safari

Our Dragonfly Pond was originally created as an extended home for the resident Common or Smooth Newts in our garden as well as attracting dragonflies to breed. The newts have thrived and each spring they congregate in the pond to flirt, mate and lay eggs on their favourite plant – the water forget-me-not.

I've always failed to capture the newts with the camera . . . until tonight! I had a cunning plan and it worked. I feel as if I've been on a safari and bagged close-ups of the big-five :-)

There's a narrow channel joining the deep pond to the shallow gravel and weed filled pond where the newts lay their eggs. At night the newts become more active, they swim and dive and do their flirty tail wiggling dances in the deep pond. This evening I went down to the pond, there was a queue of newts making there way along the channel – I set the camera on fast shutter speed, macro and flash and aimed using a torch as a guide, then I turned off the torch and took the photo. When I downloaded the photos this is what I'd got (you can click on the photos to enlarge them).

The dragon slayer

PPP-lite . . .

In the still, early-autumn, evening garden the dragon hunted – to and fro.
Then the dragon hunter leaped and danced and pounced
with strong ginger paws, sickle-claws and strong jaws –
he slayed the dragon.

. . . two more today!

I couldn't resist posting another dragonfly photo today – two more beautiful new-born Southern Hawkers. We enlarged and redesigned our pond five years ago, the intention was to make a home for newts, frogs, toads and other water-loving wildlife. It immediately attracted dragonflies who laid their eggs. We're thrilled our Dragonfly Pond is such a great success, now we're seeing the results of the makeover – the dragonfly nymphs spend at least a year (sometimes two or three) as monsters of the deep, voraciously hunting in the underwater forest of water plants. When conditions are just right they will crawl out of the water and up a plant stem to emerge transformed into an exquisite flying machine!

Another day to witness a miracle!

Out of the swamp came . . .

beauty!

Early this morning Cliff spotted these two newly emerged dragonflies drying their wings as they sat on plants near the edge of the shallow Dragonfly Pond. I think they are Southern Hawkers, Aeshna cynea (perhaps Dean of that amazing showcase of insects Mostly Macro will confirm this for us).

This one is still sitting on its nymph case or exuvia to use the correct term – look at the transparent shields that covered the eyes when it lived under water (click on the pictures to enlarge). I have a collection of these fragile cases in my studio, they are like miniature models for a sci-fi horror movie!

Metamorphosis

This is one reason why making space in the garden for wildlife is so important and special - to be able to witness the moment a dragonfly emerges from the skin of the nymph. It takes off it's old clothes - a diving suit complete with transparent eye shields - and is transformed into a exquisitely beautiful flying insect. I have a collection of nine perfect nymphal cases on a shelf in my studio, they remind me that our modest pond is key to the life cycle of these beautiful insects and their amazing transformation from monsters of the deep to brightly coloured masters of flight.

The dragonfly pond

This is our "Dragonfly Pond" - it has a chainsaw sculpture of a dragonfly in the plants around the shallow pond; but also it is a breeding place for at least three species of dragonfly. This morning I was inspecting the area where the hens had redesigned the pond edge and was considering what needed to be done to clear some of the vegetation, when I spotted an adult dragonfly emerging from its nymphal cast. In summer we often find the empty casts on the iris leaves and sometimes see newly emerged dragonflies resting in the sunshine - but we have rarely witnessed one actually emerging. I ran back to the studio for my camera and stepped carefully on the rocks dividing the shallow pond from the deeper section, it was then I saw not just one but three dragonflies all just emerging! Their wings were still folded together above the body and the bodies looked pale and delicate.


I returned a few hours later, one of the dragonflies had opened its transparent wings which were quivering slightly and the colour of the body was darker. I think this is a female Southern Hawker dragonfly (but I'm not an expert - so please correct me if I've got that wrong).