Last month the Exhibits Department drained, cleaned, and resurfaced the lining of the Sailboat Pond.

So, what does all this have to do with a comet?

Since refilling the pond with water there has been much dragonfly activity at that small body of water. I couldn’t help but notice a few Comet Darners (Anax longipes) flying about with the Blue Dashers, Carolina Saddlebags, Widow Skimmers and other “lesser” odes.

One of these large green and red darners flying around the pond was a female, and it was ovipositing into objects on the water’s surface. These darners typically lay their eggs on or within floating vegetation or waterlogged stumps or logs. There’s not much in the way of either of those items in the Sailboat Pond, a leaf or two, a few pine needles perhaps, but not many logs floating around. The female Comet Darner apparently mistook the ABS pipe which encircles the pond as suitable for laying her eggs.

Back to the pond. You may have noticed how clear the water in the pond is these days…