About three years ago we built a pond in our back garden and despite being small, it has had interesting wildlife - water snails, ostracods and water louses.
But last week, something else emerged - six damselflies:
Judging by the red abodmen and striped thorax and the time of year they are emerging these are probably large red damselflies. One of the most common damselflies in thee UK they are found in fresh water ponds and rivers throughout the country (including the river Ock, where the parents of these may have come from).
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They will have spent two years in the bottom of the pond as larvae going through 11 stages, the first stages involve eating vegetation, with later stages catching and eating other small creatures within the pond - no wonder the population of water louses seems to have decreased in the past 12 months.
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Like most metamorphosing insects, the adult stage is very short, the immature adult phase lasting two weeks, when they disperse, seeking new breeding sites.
Whilst the mature phase (when mating and egg laying takes place) can be only five days.
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