Emergence

I was fortunate enough to find a dragonfly nymph searching for an place to transform into an adult. Dragonfly nymphs are aquatic larva. When they are ready to mature the nymph crawls out of the water onto some kind of firm support such as a reed, catail, or even a rock.

This nymph was having difficulty finding an appropriate stem to crawl onto so I helped by providing a small stick, which he immediatly accepted.

For the first hour I was too busy photographing to draw, but then the process slowed and I grabbed the opportunity to sketch. The whole process took just over two hours. By the time he was ready to fly we could see it was a male crimson-ringed whiteface ( Leucorrhinia glacialis).

To see photos of his emergence go to my blog: www.elvafieldnotes.blogspot.com