Emergence

Spent a couple of hours w/C and the three dogs at a small dog park recently opened by our local Bass Pro Shops and Celebration Point here in Gainesville. While C kept the pups busy, I walked around the three ponds boardering a conservation area which is maintained by Alachua County. I was initially in search of wading birds, but seeing only a couple of them, I turned my lens toward other wildlife. There were tons of Dragonflies and Damselflies of all kinds but what really caught my eye was the exoskeletons left behind by the dragonfly nymphs. Their nymphs live at this stage in water, feeding voraciously on small aquatic creatures. When they begin to morph into their actual dragonfly stage, they climb up a reed or other plant and begin to  shed their exoskeleton. This photo shows that process. The individual on the right is the adult dragonfly just about to emerge. There were other interesting creatures in and around the ponds. Do take a look at today's *extras...small gator (why one must be very careful about allowing dogs to swim in unfamiliar bodies of water) and a Lamenting grasshopper...a species of Short-horned grasshoppers. 
Be Happy, Be Well! :)