On 19/8/07 15:35, in article , "Broadback"
wrote:

Bob Hobden wrote:
"Sacha" wrote
after "Bob Hobden" wrote:
"Sacha" wrote ...
I was visited by this beauty this afternoon. I'm afraid the second pic
is
fuzzy:
http://i12.tinypic.com/6cf7rlj.jpg[/IMG]
http://i12.tinypic.com/5x933m1.jpg[/IMG]

Beautiful, looks like a Southern Hawker Dragonfly (Aeshna cyanea). Sue
finds
them beautiful too but I know of some of both sexes that would run a
mile.
:-)
Thanks for the ID, Bob. I'm woefully ignorant about such things. No,
they
don't worry me a bit, nor do bats or other garden critters. I'm just
cautious round bees and try not to annoy them!
I was doing a bit of weeding and taking some photos for the web site, too
and this glorious thing zoomed onto the Thalictrum. I'm poor at judging
focus on the digital camera so a bit more practice is needed!

A Brown Hawker seems to have taken over our pond and garden this year and
seems to be defending it against other intruders but we did have a Beautiful
Demoiselle flying around the room the other evening. My favourite Damselfly
is the Banded Demoiselle easily identified with it's dark blotch on each
wing, so pretty in flight.

Normally I have quite a number of "dragonflies" about my garden, this
year nothing. Not that I've been able to get out much to look, been
raining here all day as yesterday in North Staffordshire.

We always get a few and also what I call damselflies - hope I'm right,
they're much smaller. But I don't think I've ever seen this particular one
before and certainly never so close. We have three ponds, all with weed
and plants that eggs can be laid on, so perhaps the word is getting around.
;-)
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'