Dragonflies!

[marlboro180]

Anybody else out there having the swarms of dragonflies around them? I mean swarms!!!

I was driving my car just before dusk the other evening and had to pull over just to watch . A swarm of the really big dark dragonflies were feeding on some other swarm of flying insects about 20- 30 feet off the ground, and then a bunch of barn swallows moved in and joined the feeding frenzy. I could see the swallows diving in and trying to grab the occasional dragonfly as well.

Just too cool to watch, I have never seen anything like it, the swarm lasted about 20 minutes or so before they moved on further over a parkway that I could no longer see past.

I usually get a lot of them landing on the deckrails, up on the bow, wherever, but never in a swarm like I saw. Neat!

Apparently the heat and humidity here in the midwest has been ideal for their hatching, good thing too because it has also been great for the mosquito population. GO DRAGONFLIES!


Here is a youtube video someone took near where we live.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLOQowEkoOA

And a cool slo-mo video of a dragonfly flying and landing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-7k2HNJpXA

 

[Thad]

Re: Dragonflies!

Don't they eat mosquitos? If they do, send them down my way. We could use a few of them.

I think Draog flies are neat. I like to watch them. My youngest daughter likes to catch every bug she sees and put it in her bug cage. I told her to leave those alone, we like them. Now she goes bananas every time she sees one. Wants everone to come look. It's the cutest thing.

 

[rbh]

Re: Dragonflies!

They sure put a dent in the mosquito population, that's for sure.
Problem is I have not seen any around our place yet this year, and we have lots of sceeters.

(GO BATS. )

 

[JB]

Re: Dragonflies!

Definitely man's friend.

On LOTW several years back I had one of the big metallic blue ones roost on my knee and bust any fly that came close, then back on my knee to eat it. It was using me for bait!!

On that same trip we saw one of the blue guys catch and eat another dragon... a brown one. Got video of that, but it is analog so I have no way to post it.

 

[OldePharte]

Re: Dragonflies!

My BIL and I were just talking about this last weekend.

They live out in the county and have never seen them this thick. We live in the city and rarely see one. Now we see quite a few. Our guess is that our wet Spring led to an increase in gnats, skeeters, etc., which then led to an explosion of the dragon flies.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Dragonflies!

Back when I had a lab retriever, the horseflies would maul my doggie as he got out of the pond all wet-----dragonflies to the rescue. They would swoop in and carry off the dragonflies. I didn't know why they were swooping on my shoulder when I was younger, but later reallized that they were diving in and catching the deerflies that were on my shoulders and back.
I LOVE dragonflies!!!!!!!
JBJ

 

[jonesg]

Re: Dragonflies!

Anybody else out there having the swarms of dragonflies around them? I mean swarms!!!

I was driving my car just before dusk the other evening and had to pull over just to watch . A swarm of the really big dark dragonflies were feeding on some other swarm of flying insects about 20- 30 feet off the ground, and then a bunch of barn swallows moved in and joined the feeding frenzy. I could see the swallows diving in and trying to grab the occasional dragonfly as well.

Just too cool to watch, I have never seen anything like it, the swarm lasted about 20 minutes or so before they moved on further over a parkway that I could no longer see past.

I usually get a lot of them landing on the deckrails, up on the bow, wherever, but never in a swarm like I saw. Neat!

Apparently the heat and humidity here in the midwest has been ideal for their hatching, good thing too because it has also been great for the mosquito population. GO DRAGONFLIES!


Here is a youtube video someone took near where we live.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLOQowEkoOA

And a cool slo-mo video of a dragonfly flying and landing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-7k2HNJpXA

Yeh I've driven through that exact same thing.!

Coming back from jellystone park, we decided to drive through the backroads of cornfields in Iowa, first swarms of dragonflies, then 2 seconds later birds everywhere, they looked like swallows. 10 seconds later they were gone.
It probably happens every summer during hatches.

2 weeks later we were fishing the battenkill in VT and a mayfly hatch came off at dusk, mayflies rising vertically off the river, trout going nuts, swallows picking off as many mayflies as possible, 10 minutes later it the sun set and birds were replaced by bats. Within 15 minutes the hatch turned off and all went quiet again. Weird stuff.

The salmonfly hatch is a sight to behold on the yellowstone river too.

 

[rbh]

Re: Dragonflies!

WELL I"LL BE, seen my first one an hour ago!!!
(or at least I noticed my first one)
That's timing EH.

 

[sfy]

Re: Dragonflies!

they have been real active around our house lately. love watching 'em dart and twist like they do, its almost a ballet.



you guys do know that they share a name with an outboard motor,right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVZggF-zh8c

 

[robert graham]

Re: Dragonflies!

We've had them hitch a ride on the front of our canoe and ride for a couple of miles...a neat creature, for sure!...

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Dragonflies!

Seen an increase in them this season (along with other flies/mosquitoes and earwigs)

Having said that, they feed on mosquitoes so they're my new favorite insect.

 

[CN Spots]

Re: Dragonflies!

Flying bugzappers! We got tons of them this year. They must dig the heat or something. Those huge golden ones are the most plentiful in this area. Odd that those are always in open fields/lawns and never around water.

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Dragonflies!

While they do not seem to be as thick here as they were a week ago but yea hundred of thousands of them here.
We are right on lake Michigan and boy they must be eating the crap out of those skeeters cuase I have never seen it like this before.