While I was out looking at my greening lily leaves, one of my favorite
creatures came flying by and landed on the cattail fronds. This is a
magnificent specimen as his body is about 1/2" wide and about 3" long and is
the brightest organgish-red you can imagine. He looks like he just came from
the paint shop and somebody has been waxing him for hours.

I've been looking for a photograph of him or his species for a 1/2 hour on
the www and nothing I found comes close to the color of this guy.

The other day when I was out there, he was there and a smaller miniature
version of him was there also...this one was a brilliant indigo blue.

One of the reasons I went to the internet before was to see if I could find
any data on the life cycle of dragon flies as I know this will sound stupid
but there was an exact replica of this guy who frequented my pond last year.
Couldn't be the same one could it? Remember, I'm in southern California - no
freezing allowed here. (At least at my elevation.)

http://www.dragonflies.org/
If you can't find it here, contact them.

They are amazing.


"bobkiely" wrote in message
news:NXFPa.1908$zy.667@fed1read06...
While I was out looking at my greening lily leaves, one of my
favorite
creatures came flying by and landed on the cattail fronds. This is a
magnificent specimen as his body is about 1/2" wide and about 3"
long and is
the brightest organgish-red you can imagine. He looks like he just
came from
the paint shop and somebody has been waxing him for hours.

I've been looking for a photograph of him or his species for a 1/2
hour on
the www and nothing I found comes close to the color of this guy.

The other day when I was out there, he was there and a smaller
miniature
version of him was there also...this one was a brilliant indigo
blue.

One of the reasons I went to the internet before was to see if I
could find
any data on the life cycle of dragon flies as I know this will sound
stupid
but there was an exact replica of this guy who frequented my pond
last year.
Couldn't be the same one could it? Remember, I'm in southern
California - no
freezing allowed here. (At least at my elevation.)

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 14:26:22 -0700, "bobkiely"
wrote:

While I was out looking at my greening lily leaves, one of my favorite
creatures came flying by and landed on the cattail fronds. This is a
magnificent specimen as his body is about 1/2" wide and about 3" long and is
the brightest organgish-red you can imagine. He looks like he just came from
the paint shop and somebody has been waxing him for hours.

I've been looking for a photograph of him or his species for a 1/2 hour on
the www and nothing I found comes close to the color of this guy.

The other day when I was out there, he was there and a smaller miniature
version of him was there also...this one was a brilliant indigo blue.

One of the reasons I went to the internet before was to see if I could find
any data on the life cycle of dragon flies as I know this will sound stupid
but there was an exact replica of this guy who frequented my pond last year.
Couldn't be the same one could it? Remember, I'm in southern California - no
freezing allowed here. (At least at my elevation.)

http://powell.colgate.edu/wda/Beginners_Guide.htm

(iv) Life expectancy.
The average life expectancy of the adult odonate depends on the part
of the world in which it lives. Generally speaking, in temperate zones
the largest portion of an odonate's lifetime, which may amount to
several years, is spent in the larval stage while the adult phase is
one or two months. In species common to the tropics and subtropics,
however, larval development may be reduced to a few months and the
adult stage may last a full year.

I looked for pictures typing in "California dragonflies" and got a lot
of links to buy books, but no good pictures.

bobkiely wrote:

While I was out looking at my greening lily leaves, one of my favorite
creatures came flying by and landed on the cattail fronds. This is a
magnificent specimen as his body is about 1/2" wide and about 3" long and is
the brightest organgish-red you can imagine. He looks like he just came from
the paint shop and somebody has been waxing him for hours.

I've been looking for a photograph of him or his species for a 1/2 hour on
the www and nothing I found comes close to the color of this guy.

The other day when I was out there, he was there and a smaller miniature
version of him was there also...this one was a brilliant indigo blue.
I think that's a damsel fly. You can tell the difference by how their wings
are when they land. Dragonflies hold their wings perpendicular to their
body, damsel flies pull theirs in parallel.

One of the reasons I went to the internet before was to see if I could find
any data on the life cycle of dragon flies as I know this will sound stupid
but there was an exact replica of this guy who frequented my pond last year.
Couldn't be the same one could it? Remember, I'm in southern California - no
freezing allowed here. (At least at my elevation.)

I live in San Diego. The odds are that it is not the same one. I've been
pulling nymphs out of my skimmer all winter and spring and putting them in a
stiller portion of my pond. I refuse to admit what I have done to help them
get along. They are so gorgeous, aside from being useful. Yesterday I had a
red one like you describe and also a larger green one that was laying eggs.

Gotta love the pond
Joe



-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----

bobkiely wrote:

While I was out looking at my greening lily leaves, one of my favorite
creatures came flying by and landed on the cattail fronds. This is a
magnificent specimen as his body is about 1/2" wide and about 3" long and is
the brightest organgish-red you can imagine. He looks like he just came from
the paint shop and somebody has been waxing him for hours.

I've been looking for a photograph of him or his species for a 1/2 hour on
the www and nothing I found comes close to the color of this guy.

The other day when I was out there, he was there and a smaller miniature
version of him was there also...this one was a brilliant indigo blue.

One of the reasons I went to the internet before was to see if I could find
any data on the life cycle of dragon flies as I know this will sound stupid
but there was an exact replica of this guy who frequented my pond last year.
Couldn't be the same one could it? Remember, I'm in southern California - no
freezing allowed here. (At least at my elevation.)



You might try this link:

http://www.odenews.net/

Joe



-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----

bobkiely wrote:

Here's an even better link:

http://www.southwestbirders.com/ode_photos.htm

Click on flame skimmer when you get there.

Joe



-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----

Here in the PNW they die after their summer as adults.
I have nymph 'shells' all over my cattails in the frog bog where they've
climbed out.
One was decorating my ivy by the front door the other day.
And one was racing my 17-yr-old daughter as she was learning to drive. Even
quail were out distancing her ;-)


k30a

K30a wrote:

And one was racing my 17-yr-old daughter as she was learning to drive. Even
quail were out distancing her ;-)

That probably won't last long.

The first time I drove with my daughter on the freeway after she got her
license I about s**t my pants. That feeling of invulnerability when you're
17 is scary.


Joe



-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----

Yep! That's him! Good work Joe! That's a good name for it too as he likes to
swoop down to the water level and sorta dips his tail in the water. I
haven't seen that this year but I remember it doing it a lot last year.

Its not afraid of me either...It stays right on whatever he lights on and I
can walk right up to him or if I'm just standing out there he'll come up and
land right next to me.
Thanks for looking that up for me.
BK


"joe" wrote in message
...
bobkiely wrote:

Here's an even better link:

http://www.southwestbirders.com/ode_photos.htm

Click on flame skimmer when you get there.

Joe



-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----

bobkiely wrote:
...
Its not afraid of me either...It stays right on whatever he lights on and I
can walk right up to him or if I'm just standing out there he'll come up and
land right next to me ...

When I wear floral-pattern clothes in the yard, the dragonflies land on
me. And if I'm not moving around, they stay for a while too.
--
zookeeper

In NXFPa.1908$zy.667@fed1read06, bobkiely wrote:

One of the reasons I went to the internet before was to see if I could find
any data on the life cycle of dragon flies as I know this will sound stupid
but there was an exact replica of this guy who frequented my pond last year.
Couldn't be the same one could it? Remember, I'm in southern California - no
freezing allowed here. (At least at my elevation.)

Hope this helps...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...oogle+Searc h
8800 hits

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...nflies&spell=1
7200 hits

We have a dozen or so that are brilliant indigo blue. If I'm still,
with my arm out over the pond, they will land on my fingers. =]




--
*Osc on efnet aka Allen C

'news' will bounce, remove it

"bobkiely" wrote in message
news:NXFPa.1908$zy.667@fed1read06...
snip One of the reasons I went to the internet before was to see if I
could find
any data on the life cycle of dragon flies as I know this will sound
stupid
but there was an exact replica of this guy who frequented my pond last
year.
Couldn't be the same one could it? Remember, I'm in southern California -
no
freezing allowed here. (At least at my elevation.)

We have both color's here at our pond and garden too. One is so friendly
that he/she actually follows us around the yard and zips by our faces when
we work around the pond. He rests on a plant stake nearby and we see him
daily. I spray with the hose lightly and he flies thru it. We call him our
'pet' insect. They really like plant stakes or similar to hang onto.
sandra

joe wrote:
K30a wrote:


And one was racing my 17-yr-old daughter as she was learning to drive. Even
quail were out distancing her ;-)


That probably won't last long.

The first time I drove with my daughter on the freeway after she got her
license I about s**t my pants. That feeling of invulnerability when you're
17 is scary.


Joe



-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----

I remember teaching my daughter to drive. I taught her to
parallel park, to make "k" turns and then refused to take
her on the road. That was her Dad's job. I've only
recently started to ride with her and she's 32 ;-)

--
Bonnie
NJ
http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/

I managed to save the mirror by grabbing it and pulling it in before it hit the
utility trailer in our driveway.

She says that 'EEEEEEEeeeeeeeee!!!' does not convey enough information.

As an aside each of the twins managed to blow out a tire on practice drives.
Son while at 40 mph on a gravel road (love those Volvos) and daughter said, 'is
the tire supposed to be hissing?' when we changed drivers.

I have one more teenager to go...


k30a

I have many that are quite small & in shades of blue and
aquamarine. Some fool told me they bite. I never tempted
any of them so I don't know for sure. Tomorrow I'll go
out and see what they will do! Now this is exciting news!!!

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"sandra" wrote in message
...

"bobkiely" wrote in message
news:NXFPa.1908$zy.667@fed1read06...
snip One of the reasons I went to the internet before was to see if I
could find
any data on the life cycle of dragon flies as I know this will sound
stupid
but there was an exact replica of this guy who frequented my pond last
year.
Couldn't be the same one could it? Remember, I'm in southern
California -
no
freezing allowed here. (At least at my elevation.)

We have both color's here at our pond and garden too. One is so friendly
that he/she actually follows us around the yard and zips by our faces when
we work around the pond. He rests on a plant stake nearby and we see him
daily. I spray with the hose lightly and he flies thru it. We call him our
'pet' insect. They really like plant stakes or similar to hang onto.
sandra