07.19.08
The birds and the bees.
While I was moving the sprinkler around the front yard, around the pond late this morning, a huge dragonfly with a bright white abdomen flew by. The body of this dragonfly was not as long and was broader than the blue and green varieties that visit the pond most often. Near the tips of its wings were two white dots as bright as the abdomen. It hovered over the pond and then landed on the small weeping birch tree that hangs over one end of the pond. I noticed it was alone. I haven’t seen a dragonfly with these markings in many years, not since my childhood. An hour or so later, another new dragonfly visited. This one was a vibrant iridescent green. The color reminded me of lime Jell-O that would have had a little lemon mixed in. This dragonfly was also alone and also had green pigmentation spots near the tips of its wings, just like the white one did.
Shortly after noon, I noticed the wasps that visit the pond on a daily basis were much more intent on their mission and there were more of them. At any one time there are usually five or six present on the lily pads. Today there were twelve to fifteen at a time. It’s fascinating to watch them as they land on the lily pads then crawl to the edge of the pads to take on water. You can actually see their abdomens pumping as they drink. They seemed to be having difficulty taking off. It reminded me of watching a large military cargo jet travel down a very long runway, then finally leave the ground and climb ever so slowly into the air. They were loaded down with water. I don’t know much about the aerodynamics of wasp flight, but I would guess that there isn’t much room for cargo built into their design. They barely made it over the porch roof and then flew in a slow wide ascending arc until they finally made it over the house roof. This activity kept up until nearly 6:00 PM. I’m sure the heat of the last few days has made it difficult for the hive to stay cool.
After these past few days, it is evident that the lack of rain is affecting the birds and the bees.
O.P.W.