The buttonbush down at the pond puddle are quite tired of blooming, thank you very much. They have settled down to the more serious business of seed making, but the suitors still come.
No way the dragonflies are taking a break. We live, we eat, we fly, we mate ... sometimes at the same time.
My brother told me that recently he watched a dragonfly zip up to an orb weaver's web and hover about an inch from the spider.
Intrigued by this odd standoff, he stood still ...watching, ... half expecting the dragon to bumble into the net and become spider chow.
He said the dragon continued to hover, his huge eyes twitching as he studied the spider only a flyleg in front of him.
Suddenly, the dragon lunged forward, snatched the spider from it's web, and took off with it's prize!
I had no idea they they did that kind of gutsy stuff.
12 comments:
Do you mind if I borrow your beautiful picture of the dragonflies? Just wanted to use it for my screen saver.
Great Viceroy photo. On the spider hunting, there is a family of tropical damselflies that specializes in that. They are called helicopter damselflies, partly because they are huge (wingspans of up to 8 inches) and partly because they hover in front of spiderwebs a lot. They pluck both the spiders and their prey from the webs. Many species have vivid blue, red, or yellow patches at the tips of their wings. They are amazing to watch.
That would have been pretty cool to see!
Hey I have access to the videos once again! Not sure why they weren't showing up for awhile, but anyway they're back now!
Yeah, they're pretty awesome to watch. When it's termite swarming season, it's like a fast food feeding frenzy in the air. They just zip-zip-zip, grab, munch, and go.
Didn't know they plucked spiders though.
Beautiful viceroy. Great dragonfly story.
Love that d'fly shot! Is your pond getting filled this week? We've had so much rain, there was standing water in the yard last night... first time in maybe 5-6 (mol) years.
Dani,
Yes! And thanks for asking!
Doug,
Thanks for that extra info! I will pass that along.
Dave,
And mine are blocked now at school!
Just Right,
That was news to me too!
Robin,
He needs to tote a camera like his little brother does!
Sophie,
It's staying wet, but only a foot deep.
Cool, I like the middle picture!
I love that ya look closely at the miracles we call "normal life."
Spiders beware!
Lisa,
thanks! me too!
Aunty,
Every waking moment is one.
Robert,
You got that right.
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