Some Dragonfly Observations

1 January 2008

I was walking in the forest today with family and saw a dragonfly hanging around a log. On closer inspection it was a Mountain Darner Austroaeschna atrata (not a common species) ovipositing on the underside of the log but unfortunately my approach scared her away. I was ready to go on but my mum suggested the dragonfly might come back and that maybe we should wait — to which I retorted that probably won't happen because if she was finished laying her eggs she wouldn't be back for a long time. But almost as I was finishing the sentence the insect came flying in again and I spent over 15 minutes observing her (and overheating my camera taking photos).

A little later I saw a male of the same species consuming a European Wasp Vespula germanica. I had sometimes wondered how such an encounter might go because if the wasp managed to sting the dragonfly it would probably be fatal.

NameDateSize
folderParent Directory - January 2008 14-Nov-2011 15:58     -
image/jpegAustroaeschna atrata f SassafrasCrk0~3188.jpg 01-Jan-2008 15:33   78.2 KB 480×432
image/jpegAustroaeschna atrata f SassafrasCrk0~3229.jpg 01-Jan-2008 15:36   82.7 KB 640×480
image/jpegAustroaeschna atrata m SassafrasCrk0~3270.jpg 01-Jan-2008 15:41   35.1 KB 432×560
image/jpegAustroaeschna atrata m SassafrasCrk0~3271.jpg 01-Jan-2008 15:45   49.9 KB 576×480
image/jpegAustroargiolestes calcaris f Sassafr~3041.jpg 01-Jan-2008 14:41   35.9 KB 576×432
image/jpegAustroargiolestes calcaris m Sassafr~3266.jpg 01-Jan-2008 15:39   41.7 KB 560×432
image/jpegEchidna SassafrasCrk080101-3017.jpg 01-Jan-2008 14:35   75.3 KB 560×432
image/jpeghabitat SassafrasCrk080101-3172.jpg 01-Jan-2008 15:24   67.9 KB 384×512
image/jpegSlender Tree-fern SassafrasCrk080101-3111.jpg 01-Jan-2008 15:15   90.4 KB 432×576


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