Sunday, October 28, 2007

Dragonflies (er, Damselflies...) Do It*.

(*Apologies to Cole Porter.)

(*Edit: And David is quite right. Not dragonflies, but damselflies! See comments section.)

I was pottering about the garden this afternoon and took these photos....


They have been hovering around the pond a lot of late.
These two look to the future. (If only the frogs would take the hint!)

I planted this Doodia aspera next to the pond, and
it's now unfurling these magnificent new fronds.

This delicate little monocot I've yet to identify,
but now it's flowering, the job will be easier.
Edit: It's Lomandra filiformis, and I've since found a
number of them flowering in the garden. I'll
collect seed for propagation when they're set.

In the background is the trunk of one of the many Banksia serrata
growing in our garden.

(P.S. I just realised that a few days ago, my blog had its first birthday. Happy birthday, Blog!)

9 comments:

  1. Happy first birthday!

    Is it Lomandra filiformis? http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Lomandra~filiformis

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  2. Thanks Melaleuca--certainly looks like it! I'll try to key it out tonight if I've got time.

    How's the countdown going? ;)

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  3. I think it's probably Lomandra filiformis as suggested by Melaleuca. Those inects are damselflies, but I'm not sure what type :D

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  4. Yep, I've checked out Flora of NSW and it looks like L. filiformis. I'll try working out if it's a subspecies.

    David, I thought they were damselflies too, but don't they have their wings parallel to their bodies when they're at rest? These have theirs at right angles to their bodies (normally I mean, not when they're doing the humpy-bumpy) although their wings certainly taper inwards.

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  5. Hi Margaret -

    They sure look like damselflies to me. I'm no insect taxonomist though. I think the best I can suggest is to send the photo to ID Please @ flickr for some assistance.

    Cheers -
    David.

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  6. Thanks, David. I didn't know about that Flickr group! I've joined and put up the pic.

    Cheers,

    Margaret

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  7. David, you're quite right. I sent the photo to the Australia Museum, and they wrote back:

    "Your insect is indeed a damselfy - the Common Flatwing (Austroargiolestes icteromelas) in fact. As you can tell from its common name, and your own observations, damselflies don't always rest with the wings folded over their backs - although they usually sleep that way. A far better way to identify damselflies is the note the shape of the head. Damselflies always have those widely separated bulging eyes."

    Thank you!

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  8. Hi Margaret -

    Good to see you've resolved the dragon vs damsel issue :D! I photographed another damselfly sitting with wings open yesterday.

    Cheers -
    David.

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  9. I photographed another damselfly sitting with wings open yesterday.

    David, they only do it to confuse us, little tinkers.

    (But now I know the googly eye thing, I won't get fooled again!)

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