David Williams has dug a brand new garden pond in lockdown and just a couple of weeks after adding water it was visited by Broad-bodied Chasers. These are known to colonise new ponds and have definitely seized the opportunity here with mating and ovipositing resulting in a huge number of eggs seen in these photos. This image is really unusual because exophytic eggs once laid typically sink to the bottom of the water body, whereas these appear to be supported by floating vegetation and have created quite a sight! A gel substance around the eggs absorbs water offering some defence from predators and fungal infection and giving these ‘suspended eggs’ an almost frog spawn like appearance. The eggs are yellow when first oviposited then darken in a day or two and should hatch out in a couple of weeks.
