DAMSEL FLY POND The lakes boast aquatic habitats teeming with original flora and fauna that has adapted to water: birds, fish, amphibians and a multitude of small animals: insects, spiders, worms and even molluscs. But queen of them all are undoubtedly the dragonflies, going by the scientific name Odonata. No less than 18 species have been recorded here. There are two large families of dragonflies. You will be able to distinguish two types of dragonflies. Zygopteran (see picture above), are the most common. Nicknamed "Damsel flies" you can recognise their frail, light appearance, dainty bodies and fragile wings. Their four identical wings stick to one another when they alight, to form a single wing. Anisopteran are larger and more robust. They fly fast, in a straight line. Their differently shaped wings remain extended at rest. The pond plays an important role in a dragonfly’s life. They live on the pond all year round, but you will only see them flying around from May to October. At this time, they mate and lay eggs. Eggs are deposited in or near water or on aquatic plants. The larvae emerge, shedding successive envelopes several times as they grow from prolarvae to young then older larvae. After several months, even years, depending on the species, they turn into winged dragonflies. These then leave the pond to "mature", i.e. acquire their reproductive capacity and definitive colour in places with plenty of insects such as woods and meadows. A few days or weeks later, they come back to lay their own eggs.
MARSHLAND KID El'guernoulle r'beye chés guernoulles (El'guernoulle looks at the frogs) "The ponds are the frogs’ kingdom, and in the spring they make a deafening noise. My friends and I try to catch them with a fishing rod and red rag. It does not always work. When we catch them, we bring them home in a jar to eat them. I don’t like that and I think it’s stupid to kill them, so I hide my jars and once my pals have gone I release them again. It’s incredible to watch them jump. One evening when I arrived at the marsh there were thousands of little frogs The Fishery Officer explained that the biggest frogs, the ones that sing, lay thousands of eggs. Later, tadpoles hatch. They live in the water and gradually lose their tails and grow their legs until they have turned into frogs, when they leave the pond to live as landlubbers.
A “tremblant” is like a natural raft made of branches and organic matter, a floating island. Banded Demoiselle - Calopteryx splendens (Zygoptera) Scarlet Darter - Crocothemis erythraea (Anisoptera) Emperor Dragonfly - Anax imperator (Anisoptera) Black- tailed Skimmer - Orthetrum cancellatum (Anisoptera) Kingangler - Alcedo atthis Hobby - Falco subbuteo Green frog - Rana kl. esculenta Downy Birch - Betula pubescens and Alder - Alnus glutinosa THE LIFE CYCLE OF DRAGONFLY Water Life eggs prolarva Young larva Elderly larvae Life on Earth Emergence clutch Adult Coupling THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE FROG Water Life eggs Young tadpole Tadpole Life on Earth Young Frog Adult frog Life on Earth Young Frog Adult frog
Emergence: a tricky time Emergence is when aquatic larvae turn into winged dragonflies. To do so, they leave the water, hoisting themselves up on a stem, a branch or the bank. Then they shed their last envelope, emerging from the back. They turn round to cling to their stem, gradually stretch their wings, to dry them out like the rest of their body. Leaving their old envelope, known as "exuvia", they fly away, somewhat clumsily. At this point, they are easy prey, especially for the hobby (a type of falcon).