damselfly

 

Perched on the windowsill.  Looking in at us.

damsel

 

Eastern Forktail damselfly. This is a young female who will change color as she matures.

green frogs on rocks

Usually, the frogs who live here sit on shore hiding among grasses looking for prey insects or invertebrates.

But when a rock is available, Green Frogs Rana clamitans prefer to sit in the sun and wait for a meal to present itself.  

Eastern Forktail damselfly

This damselfly, a young orange female Eastern Forktail, is of a species often seen near ponds in Minnesota.  The male Eastern Forktail is mostly green and black.  Older females look blue or frosty violet.  Forktails Ischnura verticalis live through winter in the water as nymphs, feeding on smaller aquatic critters.  But they are also prey for larger aquatic creatures.  If they make it through to springtime, they emerge out of the water as adult damselflies.  If they can avoid being eaten by a bird, they will mate and deposit eggs into plant stems or floating material.  The eggs later hatch and release new nymphs into the pond for next year's damselflies.

whitetail and bluet

The pond is a magnet for dragonflies and damselflies.  Both are in the Odonata family. Above is a damselfly hunting for a food item in the grasses surrounding the pond.  It is less than 1.5 inches long.

Their species lay eggs in the water or on aquatic plants, then the nymphs or larvae hatch and live in the water.  The young go through several stages until adulthood, feeding on smaller creatures in the pond.

This Common Whitetail dragonfly Plathemis lydia was resting on the big rock.  It is about 2 inches long.