Dragonflies of Somme

The 26 magical photos below, all taken by Lisa Musgrave in the Somme preserves, show 21 species - an impressive sampling of Somme's dragonfly biodiversity. Many of the tips for appreciating and photographing dragonflies are also from Lisa. 

Said to be the world’s fastest insects, dragonflies “can reach 19 to 38 mph.” They're among our most ancient animals. Fossil dragonflies, much like ours, go back 300 million years, predating the first dinosaurs by 100 million. Evolving all this time, they have become very good at what they do. 

Somme is proud to be a living home to such treasures. They owe their diversity here to the healthy habitat restored in uplands and ponds by removing invasive plants and broadcasting seed of the vegetation that supports their animal food. As both nymphs and adults, they are hunters of other insects.  

HOW TO ENJOY DRAGONFLIES

Just take a walk and look.

Binoculars that can focus close up are a great help, while they’re sitting still. On the wing, they’re so fast, you need unencumbered eyes to follow them.

It can be fun to learn their names and natural histories. But also don't hesitate to just admire and marvel. 

Green Darner

These often perch low in the grass on trail edges. Look about 10 feet ahead to see them before they fly.

Their transparent wings take on an amber tone as they grow older. Some migrate “thousands of kilometers.”

“To begin mating, a male usually just grabs a female, but the female chooses whether to actually mate.” (http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Anax_junius/)

Shown here perching on last year's bush clover (brown) and this year's prairie clover. 

Eastern amber wing - female.

Just an inch long. One of our smallest dragonflies. Said to fly in ways that make them 

appear to be wasps, thereby scaring away some possible predators. 

Shown here perching on prairie Indian plantain.

Eastern Amber Wing - male

In this species the male patrols a good egg-laying territory and waits for females to come to him. 

Shown here perching on Dudley's rush.   

Ruby Meadowhawk - male

They eat deer flies and mosquitoes. Thus – the more meadowhawks, the better. 

Ruby Meadowhawk - female (or young male) 

Meadowhawks are “sit and wait” hunters. When they see prey, they dart out and grab it; 

then they return to their perch to eat. 

See: https://www4.uwm.edu/fieldstation/naturalhistory/bugoftheweek/meadowhawks.cfm

White faced meadowhawk

They too hunt flying insects from perches – often long arching blades of grass. 

It takes a while for these dragonflies to develop their white faces, and they look like ruby meadowhawks until they do. 

I’ve often shown people that if I put my finger in front of a ruby meadowhawk, it will climb on my finger and stay put while I show other people a closer look. Or I put my finger above their perch when they fly out to hunt and find that they return and land on my finger - for as long as I'm patient to hold it there – unless another mosquito comes by. 

But “the internet” says that the white-face is the one most likely to do this. Perhaps I was giving credit to the wrong bug?

Variegated meadowhawk

According to Wikipedia, this species migrates as far south as Honduras and as far west as eastern Asia. Really? How do they get there? Do they ever come back?

Band-winged Meadowhawk

After mating, the females usually fly in tandem with males and lay their eggs, dipping the tips of their abdomens in shallow open water, usually in vegetation. The nymphs (or larvae or naiads) eat mosquito larvae, fly larvae, tadpoles, and small fish. 

Wandering Glider

Said to be the highest flying dragonfly, they have been recorded at 6,200m in the Himalayas. Also called the Globe Wanderer, it was the first species to recolonize Bikini Atol after nuclear tests there. It is the only dragonfly on Easter Island. As the insect world's greatest long-distance travellers, they are said to maintain a unified worldwide gene pool.

Four-spotted Skimmer

This "wolf" of dragonflies often catches and eats other dragonflies its size and smaller. 

Circumpolar in the northern hemisphere, found in Europe, Asia, 

and Japan (a good place to be a dragonfly, as these elegant insects are much appreciated there).

Often sits on perches with a good view and tilts head back and forth while scanning its territory for flying insects (to catch and eat) or other dragonflies (to chase out of its territory) (or catch and eat).

Halloween Pennant

Lays its eggs in ponds or marshes (like most dragonflies) – or even in holes in trees that fill with water. 

Mating males and females fly around, attached, and the female is lowered underwater to lay eggs (where she can breathe through air that is trapped by hairs on her legs). Note: Insects often breathe through parts of their bodies other than their mouths. 

Adults eat flying insects – mosquitoes, flies, gnats and sometimes other dragonflies.

The larvae live under water and are predators of, among other things, mosquito larvae. Yes!

Shown here perching on rough blazing star buds. 

Calico Pennant female

Females have yellow wing veins and males have pink.  

Common Whitetail - male

The aquatic larvae feed on smaller insect larvae, small crayfish, and tadpoles or minnows. 

Not one of those dragonflies which, when mating and laying eggs, fly around attached to each other for long periods. Whitetail mating takes about three seconds. They hunt on the wing, rather than from a perch.

Great Blue Skimmer

This big beauty likes shaded pools, where it often perches for long periods and is very tame.
More a savanna and woodland species than the others shown here - most of which seem to like our savanna but would also be at home on the open prairie.  

Red Saddlebags male

Like many dragonflies, adults can be found flying from May through early October.

Pond monitors can find the nymphs all year long. 

Black Saddlebags

Spend most of their time flying. Use their wide back wings to glide. 

Adults may congregate in swarms and may migrate. 

Lisa finds that they typically perch down low in the grasses.

Shown here perching low in rattlesnake master. 

Widow skimmer - female

Large and slow, making them easy to study. 

In many dragonfly species the male guards the female as she lays her eggs. 

In contrast, the males of this species “widow” the female after sex.

Widow skimmer - male

Also large and slow. 

The male defends a large territory and spends a lot of time chasing away other (large and slow) males.

Twelve-spotted Skimmer - male

Each wing has three dark brown spots. The mature males also have ten white spots.

Twelve-spotted Skimmer - young male 

A National Park Service website advises: 

“Approach this dragonfly slowly, but if it flies off, move closer to its vacant perch quickly, and then stop. Often the twelve-spotted will return, providing the careful stalker great views of its behavior.” 

What a gorgeous creature. What a fine photo. 

Shown here on a fresh stem of big blue-stem.
This photo was originally labelled "female." John and Jane Balaban wrote to point out that it "looks rather to be a young male. Female is heavier bodied without long claspers and without white spots on the wings." 
Lisa responds, "I would totally agree with what J&J say. They have way more experience than I do."
There's a lot to learn to be an expert. But we novices can contribute too. 

Eastern Pondhawk female

Their long leg spines help them catch and carry prey. This "athletic, swift-flying predator" often hunts damselflies, which are smaller and more dainty relatives of dragonflies. 

Eastern Pondhawk male

Its tail is "pruinose blue" - which required me to look up a new word. Pruinose turns out to mean "covered with powdery or waxy white granules." Like the surface of a blue grape or a stem of a black raspberry cane or blue-stemmed goldenrod. As so often, one answer leads to another question. Why is blue often covered with such granules? I suppose, another day for that one. His tail can look quite a bit bluer in different light. After months as voracious nymphs, the adults of this species only live for two weeks, long enough to reproduce. It's a privilege to appreciate their brief time with us.

Blue Dasher female

Sitting on a dead hawthorn branch

She's a "very aggressive predator" and will eat up to 10% of her body weight per day - mostly small flying insects. She will drop her eggs on the surface of water, where they'll then fall to the bottom. 

Blue Dasher male

As the female is laying eggs, the male will guard her from a perch nearby. This "guarding" is not to protect her from harm, but to prevent some other male from replacing the original sperm with his own, which they can do. 

Swamp Darner, laying her eggs or "ovipositing"

Notice her abdomen curved down to inject an egg into this rotting wood. 

The egg will wait until this ephemeral pond fills up again with water next spring, and then the aquatic nymph will emerge to hunt down and eat mosquito larvae.

Lance-tipped Darner

The large adults eat almost any soft-bodied flying insects 

including mosquitos, flies, butterflies, moths, and mayflies. 

Yes, beautiful dragonflies also eat beautiful butterflies. If I were a delicate butterfly, would I rather be eaten by a dragonfly, a bird, or a spider? I think my last choice would be the spider. I don’t like the injection, or being wrapped up and stored. But perhaps it would be less violent? Much of nature "passeth our understanding." But it can be appreciated anyway. And many examples demonstrate that nature works best with a balance of predators and prey. 

Healthy ecosystems are glorious and marvelous, but not "The Peaceable Kingdom.” We stewards work to maintain the ecosystems that maintain healthy, sustainable biodiversity - plants, fungi, micro-organisms, predators, and prey alike. 

Photos by Lisa Musgrave

Professionally a tennis coach, not a dragonfly expert, Lisa found and identified these treasures over the years, while she was also photographing birds, flowers, coyotes, and more - and also contributing expertise and physical work to the restoration of all three Somme preserves and functioning as co-steward of Somme Prairie. 

We who love the Somme preserves deeply appreciate her Great Dedication and Skill.

Advice for appreciating and identifying dragonflies

When asked for such advice, Lisa wrote: "My tips are always the same: 1. walk slowly.  2. go by yourself so you're not distracted  3. take pictures  4. the more time you spend, the more you'll see. It takes time to learn about dragonfly habits!  5. invest in a good guidebook, or go online."

For a "good guidebook" Lisa writes: "I use Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East by Dennis Paulson, but it's a beast. Probably the field museum's rapid field guide is the best choice. "

The info in these notes came from Lisa’s experiences and, mostly, random places on the Internet. Any corrections or additions would be appreciated. 

Lots more detailed info is at: https://wiatri.net/inventory/odonata/ 

and https://dnr.illinois.gov/education/wildaboutpages/wildaboutinvertebrates/wildaboutdragonflies.html

and, you know, the Internet, and local experts.