The Book of Drawings. Animal research/ dragonfly and Three-spined Stickleback

There are many different spices of dragonfly and their close relatives the Damselflies, which both come from the order Odonata. They can be most commonly seen near ponds or other forms of still water. The form in which we see dragonflies means that they are near the end of their life. For up to two years the dragonfly remains an aquatic larvae before becoming the flying insect in order to breed. The easiest way to tell a dragonfly from a Damselfly would be the way they sit. When a dragon fly is at rest it will splay its wigs out to the side, where as the Damselfly will fold its wings up. The easiest spices of Dragonfly to find in the UK is the Common Darter. And the easiest Damselfly would be the Common Blue Damselfly.

Common male Darter Dragonfly

Common Blue Damselfly

The Three-spined Stickleback “or Gasterosteus Aculeatus” is a small inhabitant of Britains waters. They are small fish that can be found just about everywhere as they live in both freshwater and salt. They get their name from the row of spins along there back, despite there not always being three. The spines line there back to protect them from predators which may dive at them E.G. birds. Stickleback males will look after the eggs when breeding is complete. They will even stay with their hatched young for a short time.

three spined stickleback or Gasterosteus Aculeatus