R and I went to Stratford this afternoon, where I hunted Odonata while he walked into town to get his steps, and returned with a couple of iced coffees. We then sat on a bench on the river bank across from Lucy’s Mill Weir, enjoying our drinks and watching the world go by. It was a very civilised and peaceful way to spend an hour.
I didn’t take all that many photos, and most of them were only of recording quality, but I did spend a while trying to get the best focus I could – without actually stepping off the bank, which falls away sharply at this point – of this pair of White-legged Damselflies. These graceful damsels are believed to be one of the few British species to exhibit courtship behaviour: the female initiates this by flying in a particular jerky pattern, and the male responds first by showing her his expanded forelegs, and then by taking her in tandem and flying to a perch, where he strokes her with his legs until she accepts him and forms the mating wheel. Copulation can last up to half an hour, and immediately afterwards the pair fly in tandem to suitable vegetation, where the female may lay her eggs both above and below the waterline. In an area where there are a lot of White-legged Damselflies, they often congregate together to oviposit.
R: L2, C10, D45.
