While I was photographing apiary creatures, this one stopped by and landed on a peach tree. I know it’s in the order Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) but that sums up my knowledge. Still, it’s pretty and deserves to have its fifteen minutes of fame.
Creature in a peach tree. Photo by the author.
View from the front. Photo by the author.
Rusty . . .
I have an abundance of dragonflies right at sundown patrolling my apiary. Are they feasting on my honey bees as they come home for night? The invasion seems to have really set in the past week or so. The purple martins have worked the apiary all summer.
Herb,
From what I’ve read, dragonflies are considered apiary pests because they can pick off a substantial number of bees in no time. I, too, have lots of dragonflies and they do, indeed, seem to be most active in the early evenings when the bees are coming home for the night. However, many species of dragonfly are considered endangered so I let them do their thing. It’s all part of a natural cycle and I figure it’s best for me to let it happen. Anyway, dragonflies are interesting in their own right.