Come and see what I found.

in Photography Loverslast year (edited)

Unbelievably I knew immediately what it was. Have you ever heard of, or seen an Anax? Come and let me show you.
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So, what is this "Anax" that I am talking about? The pictures below will reveal an amazing creature to you.

An anax is one of the biggest dragonfly nymphs of the Emperor species. Now I know that some are going to ask me what a nymph is? Not many of us have access to nature and this explanation is meant for you.
At first, dragonflies lay their eggs under the leaves of ponds, rivers and dams. Once the eggs hatch, small little nymphs emerge, and they start to grow in the water. Nymphs are reckoned to be the most ferocious hunters in the water, and they attack many other little creatures and even the nymphs of smaller dragonflies. Can you believe that some dragonflies stay as nymphs in the water for up to 7 years, before they emerge to become adult dragonflies.?

So here below is an Anax nymph that is now out of the water and busy transforming into a dragonfly. A process called Metamorphism.
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But where did I find the Anax nymph? Look in the center of the photo below, on the long flower stem.
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Life Expectancy.

The larval phase seems to be very variable. We have measured the time elapsing from laying to emergence as an adult dragonfly and found that the Blue Emporer took 83 days.
But Odonata also over winter in the larval phase and this can last months, even years in the case of recorded Blue Emperor larvae in Switzerland.

As a broad generalization, smaller damselfly species probably survive as flying adults for a month or less, medium sized dragonflies, such as the Red-veined Dropwing live as adults for 1-2 months, and the large, robust dragonfly species may survive a whole summer season
Source: Book. Dragonflies and Damselflies of South Africa. ISBN 978-1-77584-184-5

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Yes, it was alive and moving around the stem.
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Whenever I visit a pond, I have the habit to inspect everything in and on the water. Every leaf, or plant gets a patient scrutinizing and quite often I find some surprises.
Such as this snail floating on an old leaf in the pond.
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Some detail here of the start of the emperor's wings.
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And finally, here is the Blue Emperor in its full glory (Anax imperator)
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This is why I like the Blue Emperor so much, as Wiki tells me that they are the rulers of all the dragonflies in the sky.

The emperor dragonfly or blue emperor(Anax imperator) is a large species of hawker dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae, averaging 78 millimetres (3.1 in) in length. The generic name Anax is from the ancient Greek ἄναξ, "lord"; the specific epithet imperator is the Latin for "emperor", from imperare, to command.

They frequently fly high up into the sky in search of prey, which includes butterflies, other Odonata and tadpoles; small prey is eaten while flying. They breed in a variety of aquatic habitats from large ponds to dikes, but they require a plentiful supply of vegetation in the water. The females lay the eggs into plants such as pondweed, and always lay alone. The larvae are very aggressive and are likely to influence the native species composition of colonized freshwater ecosystems.
Source

So I hope that you have enjoyed my discovery and the photos.

Late Edit: The next day. It was raining until the early morning hours, with a very strong wind. So, a bit later we went out, as I wanted to see the progression of the new dragonfly.

But look! The head of the flower was gone and so was the dragonfly nymph.
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After a careful search, we found the head of the flower, but no sign of the nymph.
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We can only hope that the dragonfly transformed from the nymph stage and that it survived.
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Note: No need to scan this for AI, as it will never be used in any of my posts. I like to do things the "old fashioned" hard way, by doing my own research.

And That's All Friends.

Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX70HS Bridge camera.

Thank you kindly for supporting a post on behalf of @papilloncharity

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Super cool shots!

Thank you for the compliment @castleberry !
!PIZZA


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So I hope that you have enjoyed my discovery and the photos.

yes i did 😊

Glad that you did 😊

That’s great you found that. It’s wonderful to see it in such an early stage.
Thanks for sharing Zac 👋🏻😊

Thank you and I posted a full metamorphosis of a butterfly, from the pupae to the adult before.
But never of a dragonfly and especially one of the special dragonflies. So yeah, I was greatly thrilled to see the nymph.
Thank you and glad that you liked it Jackie 😊
!LUV

That’s cool Zac.
Yep, this one was for sure special 😎
You are welcome. Have a wonderful Thursday!
!ALIVE

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I have a wide interest in nature and the things in nature Jackie.
It keeps one on your toes to concentrate on both the big and he small.
And besides, mother nature is a good tutor.
!LOL

Yes, I have the same Zac, but you knew that already hehehe 🤭
She sure is a good tutor.
Love Mother Nature, she can show us remarkable things.
Have a good new week and let us discover beautiful things around us 👋🏻😊
!PIZZA

Oh yes, I do know that Jackie 😜
I got some lovely photos today and she does indeed show us remarkable things. When she is in a good mood of course 🤣 !LOLZ

Hahaha !LOL
Wonderful to hear Zac.
Yes, if she is in a good mood 😄

the picture that my friend shows is very interesting. i like to see insects that have very nice colors.

Thank you and I am glad that you found the pictures interesting. Dragonflies sure have lovely colors.

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You're welcome. hopefully next time we can look for pictures together. if there is free time let's go to aceh and don't forget to let us know. we will make friends as special guests for you. 👍😊

What an awesome find, my friend 😀
I don't think I have ever seen a nymph of a dragonfly myself, but unlike you, I don't search as much in the grass - impatience is my best friend as you know 😀

All cool photos, but my absolute favourite photo is the one with the wasp flying towards the Anax ... it tells a great story of a predator chasing another predator.


!invest_vote

Thank you Hannes and I was thrilled 😊

I have posted a nymph swimming in a pond before, but never a nymph a clear as this one. And I was over the moon to discover that it was a nymph of an Emperor, as they are the royalty of the dragonfly species.
Oh, I thought that your impatient illness was improving. As an exercise, you can sit at a pond and count each blade of grass and the leaves of each water flower 😮

Can you believe that you are the only one that spotted that wasp? I deliberately did not mention it above the photo in order to gauge the perceptions of the readers. Well done and you deserve a !PIZZA

Cheers and thanks.

I think I remember that post and if I remember right, you have also posted a video, but I'm not sure.

My impatience is still here, but I am improving and hopefully this year I'll be able to enjoy the company of Lady Patience 😀 !LOLZ

Actually, I have first seen the wasp and then noticed the nymph. It's a great shot anyway, my friend, but the wasp adds the icing on the cake - well done 👍


Have a !PIZZA from me, served with !LUV
!invest_vote

Glad that you also have a vague memory about that post my friend 😊

I am sure that she is going to love your company and as you know, I have been waiting for a long time for you to meet her 🙏 !LOLZ

So strange, as Marian also first saw the wasp because my eyes were glued to the images of that nymph.
Thank you for the compliment!

Talking about wasps, I had an angry daddy wasp around my ears today.

I don't think that he liked the idea of me being so close to the nest where his children popped out 🤣

Cheers and thanks.

I have invited her to join me on one of my next photo trips - hopefully she will come 😊

I have never had any problems with wasps, but I have never been that close to a wasp nest neither 🤣 !LOLZ
You have been lucky that daddy wasp was only a little bit angry and didn't sting you 😉


Have a !PIZZA from me, served with !LUV
!invest_vote

Buy her a nice piece of cake and give it to her with a pretty please to come with you! You can even say that you love her. Always works for me 🤣

So one day when you arrive here, I will take you into breathing distance from a wasp nest and I am sure that you will be thrilled at the danger of getting attacked by a swarm of wasps 😁 !LOLZ
I told daddy wasp that I will bring him some small caterpillars for the babies 😜

Cheers and thanks.

So Lady Patience likes cakes? That's fine, but if my wife hears that I tell another woman that I love her I'll be in big problems 🤣 !LOLZ

We do have wasps here, but they are certainly babies compared to yours 😀
Did you bring the caterpillars? If not you should avoid meeting the daddy wasp 😉


Have a !PIZZA from me, served with !LUV
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7 years! That long ey? Never knew that piece of information!

And how will the snail cross the gap😂🐌 hopefully he wont "bloop" in the water 😕

Yep! I was also stunned when I discovered that they can also over winter, as normally a person thinks that the transformation can happen much faster.

The snail simply floats on the water to the side 0f the pond and then it crawls up the side. Did you know that snails have a big foot?
Which is in fact a muscle and it ripples to propel themselves across surfaces.
!LOL

!LUV !ALIVE !HUG 🤗

Thank you kindly for the goodies Lady Caroline!
!PIZZA

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Interesting shots. Thanks for sharing the nymph, Sir Stephen 😊

Thank you for the visit and the compliment Lady Jo ❤️
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Nice shots, I haven´t seen one of those before, it´s kind of scary 😅 and I loved the snail

No need for fear, as they have never attacked humans. Snaily was catching a ride 🤣
!PIZZA

😌

Wow how amazing and exciting for you to catch this process in action! Love the photos!

I was so happy Lady Sally and in my case it was a rare opportunity.
Glad that you liked the photos!
!PIZZA