Odd Odonata

Yesterday’s clouds were replaced a beautiful blue morning. We regarded this as a bonus since the Aujourd’hui  forecast from a few days ago had us expecting unsettled weather.

Unknown darter male? Unknown darter female with red beads It wasn’t just us that was enjoying the sun and warmth; a pair of dragonflies was using the hedge to our pitch as a launch pad for their hunting sorties. Their behaviour made them obviously so-called darters of one sort or another but of which sort, I know not. There are supposedly about 100 species of Odonata in Europe and my field guide contains about 20. For the moment, it will remain anonymous. I’m pretty sure that I snapped a male and a female of the species, though. There is a most peculiar feature on what I think is the female: there are strange red bead-like structures visible near the bases of the hind wing.

Eventually I stopped invading the darters’ privacy so we could go shopping and stock up the fridge. Following lunch, a swift 15-mile round trip on the bikes into Mèze and back. Mèze harbour was looking particularly appealing in some warm, later afternoon sunlight. Had anybody thought to bring a camera? No! Neither had anyone brought any money for a beer in one of the harbour’s very French bars. Brilliant! Call yourself tourists? Apparently not. Drat! It was a very pleasant ride, though.

What on earth are those dragonflies?

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One comment on “Odd Odonata
  1. elrond says:

    Fantastic photographs. If you see this comment, then this is the correct version of your website on server 213.229.67.222

    Happy posting

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