Dragonflies- 2013

Fascinating creatures!  Dragonflies are carnivorous insects that belong to the order Odonata (which comes for “odonto”- meaning tooth in Greek). They are important predators, eating mosquitoes and other small insects. Because their larvae are aquatic, dragonflies are usually found around freshwater bodies of water. They can sometimes be mistaken for damselflies (the other species in the order Odonata); look closely at the insect when it comes to rest > the wings of most dragonflies are held away from, and perpendicular to, the body while damselflies hold their wings along their body. Dragonflies have six legs, large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, (teeth!), and an elongated body. There are over 5000 different species of dragonflies known in the world today and over 400 species live in North America. These two were photographed on the bushes and vines by the side of the path between First Street and North Colonial Drive on July 1st. Several were flitting about close to their own territory; some were slightly smaller and darker with a brown spot at the tip of the wing and the others seemed to have a slightly bigger body and were a more iridescent blue in color. Look around! Different species can be seen around the reservoir and creeks and marshes from mid- spring to summer’s end. Look at these two sites for more information :  http://www.dragonfly-site.com/ has facts and historical details and http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/library/compendium/odonata.html is short scientific description.  A previous post describes dragonflies seen last summer on the reservoir: https://hpgreenteam.wordpress.com/2012/08/26/tennis-balls-and-dragonflies-part-two/.

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