By Jess Johnsrud, education coordinator
The other morning when I was setting up for a field trip, I nearly stepped on a dragonfly. It was a cool morning and the dragonfly appeared to be warming itself in the sun on the boardwalk. Concerned for its safety (34 second graders would soon be walking the trail), I carefully moved it to a nearby shrub, taking care to ensure it was still in the sun.
The dragonfly was an Autumn Meadowhawk and its one of the hardier species of dragonflies. They are the last adult dragonflies we see in this area before winter. Adults appear in July and can be found in a variety of habits including lakes, marshes, swamps, and flooded fields.
The adults lay eggs near the water’s edge in mud or damp moss in late summer and early fall. The eggs overwinter and hatch in the rains of early spring or when the water reaches about 50 degrees. The immature dragonfly is a nymph also known as a naiad because it lives in the water during this stage of its life cycle. Meadowhawk naiads are ambush predators, hiding in the muck or plants at the bottom of the pond. They have compound eyes consisting of thousands of tiny lenses that detect the slightest movement in the aquatic environment. When a meal gets close, the naiad quickly strikes using its harpoon-like lower lip and brings it back to its mouth to eat. They feed on mosquito larvae, daphnia (water fleas), and other aquatic larvae.
After several weeks of eating, growing and shedding its skin, the naiad will come out of the water at night to transition to an adult. It will attach itself to a nearby plant and molt (shed its skin one final time), emerging as an adult dragonfly. The adults feed on insects and stick around through fall until the days are below 50 degrees.
The adults are relatively small, measuring about 1.25 inches in length. Mature adult males have a cherry red body and brown legs, while females and immature males are more yellow or tan in color. They are fun to observe because they wait on a perch, then fly out to eat an insect before returning to the perch. This foraging behavior is called hawking.
Now that the mild fall weather has come to an end, we may not see these small beauties until next summer. Winter is on its way!