First dragon fly

[Shell-Fish]

Well chuffed this blistering morning as managed to watch a superb green dragonfly whizz around my back garden for the first time in 40 years!
I live in a commercial area where noise and shops are close by and would have never thought a dragon fly would come anywhere near my garden.

Low and behold this lovely specimen just hypnotised me with the ever so smooth flight around the garden for 2 mins before popping over fence and onwards.

Wondering if the dragon came especially because of my pond or possibly larvae from the pond itself???

 

[Lisak1]

Very very cool! They are definitely attracted to water, but it's because of what else the water attracts. They are voracious mosquitoes hunters. They also lay their eggs in water. Once they find you, they will be back!

 

[Shell-Fish]

Very very cool! They are definitely attracted to water, but it's because of what else the water attracts. They are voracious mosquitoes hunters. They also lay their eggs in water. Once they find you, they will be back!

Going to call this Dragon "Arnie" cos I hope he/she'll be back

 

[Douglas]

Hope it comes back. Might bring more with it next time. I would say the water attracts small insects and that attracts the dragonfly.
I see dragonflies chasing those nasty small flies that hover around the yard that perfectly hits your face as you unknowingly walk through them.

 

[Shell-Fish]

I hope it brings a whole family back because the increase in flies as well as other insects has increased tenfold. Some are beneficial like bees but starting to see plenty of UK wasps darting in and out of my creeping jenny so hoping no nasty nests in the works.

Anyone knows of a natural predator to wasps? I know in the U.S. you have monster wasps, but we have tiddlers here and would like to keep em under control.

 

[Lisak1]

I know in the U.S. you have monster wasps

WE DO?? No one told me!

we have tiddlers

You have what now?

 

[Shell-Fish]

WE DO?? No one told me!



You have what now?

Tidller is alternative for small.

Here's a pic of a standard wasps we have in UK. As you can see, pretty small (tiddler) compare to your monsters.

 

[CometKeith]

Well chuffed this blistering morning as managed to watch a superb green dragonfly whizz around my back garden for the first time in 40 years!
I live in a commercial area where noise and shops are close by and would have never thought a dragon fly would come anywhere near my garden.

Low and behold this lovely specimen just hypnotised me with the ever so smooth flight around the garden for 2 mins before popping over fence and onwards.

Wondering if the dragon came especially because of my pond or possibly larvae from the pond itself???

Congrats on your dragonfly! I have always had the opinion that a dragonfly showing up out of the blue denotes a successful pond build. We get some really pretty iridescent blue ones in the summer. An adult dragonfly can eat 2000 mosquitoes in a day!

 

[AlyssaFish]

I hope it brings a whole family back because the increase in flies as well as other insects has increased tenfold. Some are beneficial like bees but starting to see plenty of UK wasps darting in and out of my creeping jenny so hoping no nasty nests in the works.

Anyone knows of a natural predator to wasps? I know in the U.S. you have monster wasps, but we have tiddlers here and would like to keep em under control.

I don't know what you mean. We did have our first confirmed Asian killer hornet caught in Oregon recently, but those are not native and only found in that tiny quadrant of the US for now.

Most of the wasps around my pond don't seem to be any larger than the wasp you've shown in that photo. I do get "mud daubers" which are much larger, but they're solitairy and are only interested in stopping by to steal my dirt!aped

It's a bummer that you don't have dragon flies there more. I live in a city, too, but my pond gets lots of dragon fly and damsel fly visitors. In fact, there's a species that looks like it has a giant eye on the back of its head. It really disturbed me the first time I saw the cycloptic little dude! XD

 

[addy1]

Tidller is alternative for small.

Here's a pic of a standard wasps we have in UK. As you can see, pretty small (tiddler) compare to your monsters.

View attachment 132909

That looks like the yellow jackets we have here, hate them! They hurt! We get tons they try to rob the bee hives.

 

[Shell-Fish]

Sadly we have a decline of bees and some wasps in UK mainly down to pollution, weather and lack of plant diversity. Not enough people growing plants and flowers in the suburbs and this has contributed to the decline.
I'm glad in some ways, to see more bees and maybe little less wasps but not been stung by either mainly cos I stand still and keep it cool hand luke when they fly past.

 

[addy1]

I was working in my veg garden a few years back stuck my hand right next to the underground hole they lived in. I had around 18 stings. They HURT!

Many years ago I had one fly up my shirt and sting a very tender part of the body, red and swollen for about 3 months.