Southern Hawker Dragonfly laying eggs.

Southern Hawker, one of our biggest dragonflies in the UK, laying eggs in the moss around our garden pond. You can see her ovipositor - a specialised egg-laying organ - injecting the eggs into the moss. These dragons don't lay their eggs directly into the water, instead depositing them on plant stems, moss or stones around the pond margin. As the water level of the pond naturally rises in the winter, the eggs will be submerged when it's time to hatch, and if not, the hatching nymphs will scent and head for the water.