2. Dragonfly Emergence
At the end of May and early June, the mosquitoes start to swarm. Gone is the wonderful time of year that I can sit outside comfortably, with no bug spray. About a week or so after the mosquito hatch welcomes another insect emergence - dragonflies.
Dragonflies start their life as eggs laid by adults in water, plant stems, sphagnum moss, decomposing wood, or wet soil (depending on the species). Laying eggs in water is the most common.
The egg hatches as an aquatic alien looking creature called larva. The dragonfly larva is a fierce predator hunting other aquatic invertebrates. This stage takes anywhere from one to three years. They do fine under the ice in winter.
A dragonfly larva.
The transition from aquatic larva to adult dragonfly is called emergence. The larva will crawl out of the water in the morning. They may take their time by wandering all over the place to find the perfect spot. Once they find the optimal spot on a plant, rock face, dock or boat, they will hook the claws into the surface.
Dragonfly larva searching for the perfect spot on lichen covered rock.
After a bit of resting, the back splits open. Like a scene from a sci-fi movie, the dragonfly adult begins to emerge from the larva skin. The thorax, head, compressed wings, legs, and a portion of the abdomen squeeze their way out of the larval husk. After another brief rest, the legs harden. Once this happens, the dragonfly can pull the rest of its new body free. At this point the dragonfly looks wrinkly and rumpled. Blood rushes to all the right places and the wings straighten out. Next it’s time for another rest to dry out the newly minted wings. This rest lasts for about an hour before the dragonfly takes flight.
