Dragonflies and the Joys of Ponds

One of the great pleasures of the garden is having a pond. I have a small one with water hyacinths to keep the water filtered and guppies to prevent any mosquitoes from landing. I run the pump occasionally to recirculate the water and I top it up after evaporation. For good measure, if any mosquitoes arrive at this time of year (summer), they are picked off by the damselflies who reproduce in the pond and who sit on the equisetum reeds nearby. Their larvae are at the bottom of the pond. On occasions, I have had 30-40 damselflies in the air above the house – quite a sight.

Damselflies at rest keep their wings parallel to the body. They are different from the larger dragonflies, which keep their wings at right angles when they are at rest. There is something awe-inspiring watching dragonflies, like bright orange flame skimmers (shown in the photo) and iridescent blue darners cruising the neighborhood at high speed, taking out mosquitoes. Dragonflies and damselflies (scientific name Odonata) go back as far as the dinosaurs.

Dragonflies and damselflies do not sting or bite, which hasn’t prevented them from getting a sinister reputation in western folklore ("the devil's darning needle," "ear cutter"). In Asia, by contrast, they are symbols of courage and strength. I’m with them.

If you would like to read more, here’s a website that you might find interesting, here.

Photo: Elaine with Grey Cats/Wikipedia