Dragon attack

Finally found an internet cafe open. My usual has been closed for five days, including today, due to end of Ramadan public holiday. Some way to run a business. Consequently I have had to back blip four entries, hope you have time to view them.

I didn't even know which day was my 365, so the academy speech will be published in tomorrow's blip, or this one will get too lengthy.

It is well and truly dragon mating season, as demonstrated by yesterday's blip. So now the hunt for an egg laying blip begins in earnest. Today's plan was to pick up a few backup images and then sit down on the edge of a paddy, watch and wait. In this heat the waiting will be less than two hours, but there is no rush because I know that I was still picking up dragon mating shots well into September of last year.

Most conveniently, two of the rice paddies have been planted with tiny rice seedlings, so there is lots of open water with no obstructions. The down side is that I will have to wait for the action to come close to me. It was interesting observing and learning. Most of the action today was the bright red dragonflies.

The males sit around the edge of the paddy and wait for a female to come by. The female hovers over the water close by. Upon spotting the female, the male leaps into action and flies in tandem with the female, attempting to grab the back of the females head. Usually two or three males make the move at the same time and so in the end, none of them succeed and the males return to the edge of the paddy and the routine repeats. The actual hook-up ratio is extremely low and during my hour of observations this morning, I only witnessed one hook-up and I lost sight of that.

What I am actually looking for, is for the male to bring his fertilized female back to the water to deposit the eggs. The male will try to keep a firm hold of the females head, to prevent any other males from copulating. If he loses his grip, he will at least stay with the female until the eggs are deposited in the water, fending off vigorously all the other males. It is quite a battle and very interesting to follow.

Today's blip is actually of a female orange dragon which was laying eggs close by. Somehow she had lost her male, but in the process of egg laying, she was attacked by a male of a different species, the red dragon. Not only does the male want to prevent any other male from mating, it also tries to stop any other species from populating the pond, this was fascinating. You really need to go in large to see the aggression.

I did actually get egg laying images, but I am looking for something special. Because this is a once a year opportunity and a difficult image to capture anyway, I really want something that will blow you away, so you might well be getting a few more bugs and beetles before that shot gets blipped, if indeed I get it at all.

Still, I thought today's blip was pretty special, especially as I managed to get a focus. You can see the open tip of the orange females abdomen, as she was interrupted during egg laying. Good luck to any other blippers trying for this shot, I am sure one or two will be posted over the next few weeks.

Dave