Dragonfly
A warm sunny Sunday morning here in Essex, and a really good time to take a wander round the garden, it just starts the day right! Today the garden was buzzing again with bees and another welcome visitor the dragonfly. The garden is usually full of wildlife even if some are less welcome, like the slugs.
Dragonfly
Damsel flies and dragonflies are always welcome. The way to tell the difference between the two is that dragonflies when resting have their wings outspread, while the damsel fly folds its wings down by its abdomen. In the UK we have around 30 species of dragonflies still, but the numbers are way down due to environmental factors, the loss of their natural habitats to man. I am not too knowledgeable about the various species, but I do enjoy seeing them buzz around the garden like tiny aeroplanes with flashes of various colours in the sunlight.
A lot of work is being done by the British Dragonfly Conservation organization to help conserve the natural habitats. Just by digging a small pond in the garden, adding a few pond plants and surrounding the pond with various marginal plants, individuals can help out too to encourage dragonflies to multiply their numbers.
