Dragon or Damsel

I found this Dragonfly dead by my car today,just waiting to be photographed.
I think he had come to the end of his life cycle.
I found the wings facsinating. So delicate.

 

A very delicate insect Roders, and good pics, shame they have such a short life. :(

 

They have a short life as a winged adult, but a much longer life under water in your pond where they are fierce predators of tadpoles etc. You can tell the difference between a dragonfly and a damsel fly because the dragonfly rests with its wings rigid like an air plane. Only the damsel or demoiselle fly can fold its wings back and rest them along its back

 

Thanks for that HB - I didn't know how to tell the difference, really helpful to know now.

 

We have a large pond so we are lucky to get no end of dragonflies every year. Big ones like the one roders photographed, then the small red ones, brilliant blue ones, and I even saw a golden one last week. Not to forget the medium- sized brown ones with a sort of stumpy body.