I followed this young Eastern Pondhawk male around the garden in the heat this morning. He stayed barely a second on leaves, flowers and stonewalls, but I managed a few descent shots. I don't think I have ever seen a green one before.
"Pondhawks attack their insect prey with similar agility demonstrated in their avian namesake. They are very good predators and can take down insects as large as themselves. They will even eat members of their own species. The males and females of this species differ in color. Adult males are a powdery blue with a yellow-tipped abdomen, while females are bright green with some dark brown/black spots on the abdomen. Young males are also green, like females, with rings on the abdomen, but they will change color as they mature.
Males aggressively defend their territories, especially at or near the water's edge. They constantly patrol their airspace, occasionally taking rest on the ground or on floating trash or tree branches. Females drop their fertilized eggs into the water. They choose warmer, still waters as there are fewer potential predators there that might eat hatching young. There, the larvae (naiads) grow by feeding on other aquatic insects until they mature enough to crawl on land and molt into their adult form."
www.insectidentification.org/
We watched ceremonies for John Lewis this morning with heavy hearts.
For the Record, This day came in extremely hot, the heat index at noon was 102 F/38.8C. We are in desperate need of rain . T did a huge watering job with watering cans, a big job in the heat, even in the early morning. Tomorrow will be the same I fear.
I retired from public school teaching after happily spending twenty eight years playing in Kindergarten. Now I fill my days watching cat antics, taking endless...
