Wednesday 22 August 2018

Choosing the Right Spot.

The Southern Hawker has visited the garden pond over the last several seasons to oviposit.It is a treat to watch the female as she busily glides around the pond looking for the best places to lay her eggs.
Yesterday I witnessed two visits,the first in the early afternoon and a second much later when the female laid eggs in the bank facing the pond and then into reed leaves and stems.These are ideal spots  compared with other Southern Hawkers that seem to try and oviposit into anything from a large rock to my leg.
The photos below follow a short sequence of  ovipositing into a reed where the female uses the ovipositor to deposit her egg.













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