on the approaches to the Village of Neo Chorio and the Akamas Peninsula, this a perfect place for Harry and Sheila to gain inspiration for their painting and writing.
Every year, as soon as the weather
warms up, half a dozen or so beautiful red dragonflies appear and spend the
summer months hanging out around the swimming-pool. Known as Red Squadron or
the Red Dragons, they are completely fearless and extremely territorial.
Red Dragon
They pass the days darting around
above the water or landing on the poolside, where they seem to spend ages
simply doing nothing. They interact continuously with each other in the air and
aggressively drive off any other dragonflies who try to butt in.
Some large blue dragonflies, who
regularly turn up, are more than twice the size of these fierce little red
ones, but they take off pretty quickly once Red Squadron is scrambled and
airborne.
From the water it is fascinating to
be able to get a close look at these normally elusive creatures. Once landed on
the edge of the pool they remain absolutely motionless and take no notice of
anyone shoving their face an inch or so away from them. Here you can see every
exquisite detail of their sparkling gossamer wings and segmented torso. You can
even see their tiny mouths working as they consume minute flies or ants.
They tend to drive the large rock
lizards in the area mad. These guys are used to chasing and leaping up to catch
butterflies and can't resist having a go at the tasty red morsels. While they
tend to be rather successful at grabbing the odd Cabbage White or Painted Lady
they don't have much luck with the Red Dragons. Time and again I have watched
them patiently waiting for one to land in the near vicinity before stealthily
stalking it and making a sudden leap. The problem is the Reds are too smart for
them. Having alighted on the very edge of the pool, they take off just as a
lizard makes its move. This generally results in the dinosaur look-a-like being
unable to check its momentum and dropping into the water with a considerable
splash.
Unlike the softer-bodied lizards, who
swim quite well and have the sense to sit on the skimmer until rescued, the
large Agama lizards have negative buoyancy and sink like stones. If no one is
around with a net to fish them out quickly, they end up as unwanted decorations
on the bottom of the pool.
In really warm weather the Red Dragons
are on patrol from about half past six in the morning until around eight
o'clock just
before it begins to get dark. I have no idea where they sleep, but I bet it's
somewhere predators can't get at them. I have no idea how long they live either,
but I'm really happy to have them around.
Don't forget you can send emails or leave comments on the website
