Neon Skimmer Dragonfly & Nymph Shell

I spotted the thing pictured above in the Dwarf Papyrus, a.k.a. Cyperus haspens, that grows in my pond. Thinking it was a live bug, I left it alone. The next day, it hadn't budged a millimeter, so I started taking pictures. Once I moved some stems aside for a better look (above), I could see it was a shed skin or exoskeleton of some kind. Neato! said I. 

J. Hensen

Above right: striking a pose after I carefully extracted the exoskeleton from the plant. This facial expression reminds me of Kermit the Frog.

It wasn't obvious to me at first what this was, but minutes later, I spotted a dragonfly, the first of the season. As soon as I saw her face, I knew the shell must have been a dragonfly nymph. Neato! said I, again.

Above: This female Libellula croceipennis, a.k.a. Neon Skimmer, is perhaps the same individual who left the exoskeleton in my papyrus. Dragonflies, especially the males, love to perch on tall, skinny things overlooking the pond, so I've planted Horsetail Reed, a.k.a. Cape Rush or Equisetum hyemale, there. (It's doing really well since I took it out of the pot and planted it in the ground, but I'm afraid it's soon going to pop up everywhere I don't want it to.) She perches on the Horsetail Reed in this picture.

Doesn't it look like she's smiling?

backyardbugs

I found this crazy YouTube video about dragonfly life cycles. You have to see it. It shows an awesome time-elapsed sequence of a dragonfly emerging from the nymph shell! It shows super-close ups of all kinds of stuff, including the weird feature some dragonfly nymphs have in order to breathe while living underwater, rectal gills!