Yesterday my sons and I were fishing in the Pine Barrens, and we came across a few dragonflies, which brought me to write this post.
Every year it seems like my sons and I have a theme in the outdoors. We've been through herping, birding, botanizing, bushcraft, fishing, and at the beginning of this year, we decided to focus our efforts on a 'big year' list for dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata or 'odes' for short).
According to NJOdes.org, there are 183 different species of Odonates in New Jersey, with Sussex County having the highest diversity (145 species). The Pine Barrens in total weighs in at 124 species (again according to NJOdes). Between lots of time in Central NJ and a brief trip to the Adirondacks, our big year list came in at 58. (Seems we could have done better!).
I've found just about everything about them to be fascinating, a few things that stuck out to me:
The behavior of dragonflies is similar in several ways to birds. Some dragonflies are migratory (common green darners being a popular example), and like monarch butterflies, the insects that leave in the fall are not the same ones that return in the spring. Also like birds, some Odes hunt from perches (like flycatchers) and some hunt on the wing (like swallows).
They are territorial, and male dragonflies will brutalize one another for favorable foraging perches or areas. A brief visit to a pond in summer will reveal this quickly.
They mate in a position which we cannot (no comments about why we practice it anyway) called the copulation wheel. Males can also remove the sperm from fertilized females and insert their own. This reminds me of the spermatophore capping that occurs with Ambystomid (mole) salamanders.
Although they will do no harm to us, they are ruthless hunters, with their appetites in tune with the insects which try to make meals out of us (mosquitos, etc.). Their flight abilities are spectacular, as each wing is controlled with individual musculature. It frankly surprises me that any birds can catch them, but I've seen it happen. I once watched a dragonfly through binoculars catch a mosquito and promptly be taken by a purple martin. All that needed to happen was to have a hawk come along and grab the martin and it would have been like a David Attenborough film.
I've heard it suggested that some (like halloween pennants and widow skimmers) are butterfly mimics, which increases their chances of sneaking up on prey without being detected. Their larvae are also very effective aquatic predators, which are extremely opportunistic and will take anything they can fit in their alien-like jaws.
They will thermoregulate by basking like reptiles, whirring their wings, or changing their body angle to minimize surface area. Some will even dip themselves in the water to cool off.
The names! Contrasted with the wispy, delicate names of butterflies, our clubtails, spiketails, meadowhawks, sanddragons, snaketails, dragonhunters, dragonlets, boghaunters, shadowdragons, pondhawks, and sundragons give them alpha status among the invertebrates.
Last but not least, nothing prepares one for the frustration of trying to take odeing seriously and identify every one that zips by at what seems like 8000 mi/hr. If you bring a camera, you will need a net. If you bring a net, you will need a camera. If you bring both you will need binoculars. If you only bring binoculars you will need a chiropractor. Don't try to bring all three, you won't be able to carry them all.
So yesterday, the day after Christmas, we were out fishing and got a visit from an Autumn meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum). These little guys are fascinating because they hang on so far into the year. Their strategy of laying eggs in areas that are only damp but will later fill with water is reminiscent of that of marbled salamanders, who lay their eggs in dried vernal pools only to have them hatch when the pools fill. They will also sometimes lay eggs in permanent bodies of water. If you see a little red dragonfly on a warm day later in the year in the Pine Barrens, it's most likely an autumn meadowhawk. Here's a pic of my son hanging out with one of the 4 autumn meadowhawks that we saw yesterday.
Thanks for looking!
Every year it seems like my sons and I have a theme in the outdoors. We've been through herping, birding, botanizing, bushcraft, fishing, and at the beginning of this year, we decided to focus our efforts on a 'big year' list for dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata or 'odes' for short).
According to NJOdes.org, there are 183 different species of Odonates in New Jersey, with Sussex County having the highest diversity (145 species). The Pine Barrens in total weighs in at 124 species (again according to NJOdes). Between lots of time in Central NJ and a brief trip to the Adirondacks, our big year list came in at 58. (Seems we could have done better!).
I've found just about everything about them to be fascinating, a few things that stuck out to me:
The behavior of dragonflies is similar in several ways to birds. Some dragonflies are migratory (common green darners being a popular example), and like monarch butterflies, the insects that leave in the fall are not the same ones that return in the spring. Also like birds, some Odes hunt from perches (like flycatchers) and some hunt on the wing (like swallows).
They are territorial, and male dragonflies will brutalize one another for favorable foraging perches or areas. A brief visit to a pond in summer will reveal this quickly.
They mate in a position which we cannot (no comments about why we practice it anyway) called the copulation wheel. Males can also remove the sperm from fertilized females and insert their own. This reminds me of the spermatophore capping that occurs with Ambystomid (mole) salamanders.
Although they will do no harm to us, they are ruthless hunters, with their appetites in tune with the insects which try to make meals out of us (mosquitos, etc.). Their flight abilities are spectacular, as each wing is controlled with individual musculature. It frankly surprises me that any birds can catch them, but I've seen it happen. I once watched a dragonfly through binoculars catch a mosquito and promptly be taken by a purple martin. All that needed to happen was to have a hawk come along and grab the martin and it would have been like a David Attenborough film.
I've heard it suggested that some (like halloween pennants and widow skimmers) are butterfly mimics, which increases their chances of sneaking up on prey without being detected. Their larvae are also very effective aquatic predators, which are extremely opportunistic and will take anything they can fit in their alien-like jaws.
They will thermoregulate by basking like reptiles, whirring their wings, or changing their body angle to minimize surface area. Some will even dip themselves in the water to cool off.
The names! Contrasted with the wispy, delicate names of butterflies, our clubtails, spiketails, meadowhawks, sanddragons, snaketails, dragonhunters, dragonlets, boghaunters, shadowdragons, pondhawks, and sundragons give them alpha status among the invertebrates.
Last but not least, nothing prepares one for the frustration of trying to take odeing seriously and identify every one that zips by at what seems like 8000 mi/hr. If you bring a camera, you will need a net. If you bring a net, you will need a camera. If you bring both you will need binoculars. If you only bring binoculars you will need a chiropractor. Don't try to bring all three, you won't be able to carry them all.
So yesterday, the day after Christmas, we were out fishing and got a visit from an Autumn meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum). These little guys are fascinating because they hang on so far into the year. Their strategy of laying eggs in areas that are only damp but will later fill with water is reminiscent of that of marbled salamanders, who lay their eggs in dried vernal pools only to have them hatch when the pools fill. They will also sometimes lay eggs in permanent bodies of water. If you see a little red dragonfly on a warm day later in the year in the Pine Barrens, it's most likely an autumn meadowhawk. Here's a pic of my son hanging out with one of the 4 autumn meadowhawks that we saw yesterday.
Thanks for looking!
