It's pretty easy to get these two kinds of insects confused when they are skimming around the lake, much like folks might confuse a moth or butterfly. Right about now, this summer's damselflies and dragonflies are turning up in big numbers on the lake.
Both types of insects good-sized, often colorful with bright blues and greens. They hang out near the water and warm themselves on plants and rocks. Damselflies tend to be thinner, more delicate than dragonflies. They often land you, your clothes, your hat, your boat, etc; whereas the dragonflies often seem like they can buzz around the air for hours.
Both dragonflies and damselflies lay eggs in water or in/on aquatic plants. The larvae then live in the water until they are ready to mature as the familiar air-borne insects we see. The larvae or nymphs are an important food source for fish.
As adults, dragonflies and damselflies are predators eating flies, mosquitos, midges, moths and other flying insects. They continue to spend most of their time near the water, often resting on aquatic plants, making adult dragonflies / damselflies an important food for fish, turtles, frogs and birds like swallows.
Here are some dragonflies / damselflies you might see around Puckaway:
Dragonfly - Eastern Pond Hawk - Resting on a rock at the shoreline.
Dragonfly - Halloween Pennant Dragonfly - Resting on a reed
Damselfly - Bluet - we see a ton of these guys
Dragonfly (Blue Dasher) and Damselfly (Bluet)
No comments:
Post a Comment