Nature's fierce little predators:
Dragonflies and damselflies

by Pam Owen, October 2006

	A young Eastern Pondhawk, a common and very ferocious dragonfly of this area. Photo by Lyt Wood.

You've seen them zoom by in low-lying fields and wetlands, and around ponds—a bright flash of iridescent color! They hover! They strike! These small but fierce predators are dragonflies and damselflies.

Dragonflies and damselflies make up the order Odonata in the insect world. The name is derived from the Greek "odonto-" meaning tooth, referring to the strong teeth found on the mandibles of most adults. Dragonflies they have lived on earth for hundreds of millions of years, and thousands of different species of dragonflies and damselflies live in watery environments throughout the world.

As predators, both help keep populations of other insects in check. They reduce the numbers of mosquitoes and other potentially harmful insects by aggressively feeding on them. Dragonflies and damselflies are also indicators of a healthy environment because they require good-quality water for their larvae to develop.

A young Spangled Skimmer, newly emerged from the water which was its home for the past 11 months. Its larval skin was recently shed and can be seen still clinging to the plant. The adult will take its first flight within the next half hour. Photo by Lyt Wood.

"Their aerial agility and vivid colors make them easily noticed on sunny summer days," notes an article on London's Museum of Natural History, "but few people will have looked beyond the flash of blue, red, green, or yellow to consider the lives of dragonflies."

Some time ago, local arborist and educator Lyt Wood was inspired to do just that, but it wasn't until March of this year that he began what turned out to be a "rather intense study" of Rappahannock County's dragonflies and damselflies:

"What started out as a rather vague inspiration quickly became an obsession. I took every spare hour to go out and search for these little predators. The more I got into it, the more I was absolutely astounded by their power, beauty, and diversity—not to mention their frenetic lifestyles and behavioral quirks."

As Wood explains, just like birds and other animals, each species of dragonfly and damselfly has its own habitat preference and its own personality. Their mating and related sexual activities are "truly bizarre," according to Wood, and other aspects of their behavior are also fascinating, including hover-guarding, roosting, migrating, patrolling, cartwheeling, basking, and obelisking (yes, in the world of the dragonfly, "obelisk" is a verb, according to Wood).

	Lyt Wood. Photo by Pam Owen.

Wood guesses there are about 70 species of dragonflies that live right here in Rappahannock County. Within the past year he's have found about half that number and gotten to know some of them intimately. Other than their sheer diversity, the biggest surprise to him was that "they are everywhere":

"We usually associate dragonflies with ponds, streams, bogs, and rivers," he says. "Certainly water is the critical part of their habitat. But if we pay attention, we will also see them over lawns, fields, parking lots, and along highways and in the woods. It is not unusual for a foraging dragonfly to enter buildings or a car."

Wood says his "Dragonfly Project" obsession has had its humorous moments:

"I was in the habit of carrying a camera and binoculars everywhere. Frequently I would stop in the middle of a conversation and my eyes would focus on something far away. Seeing me on my belly in a field or in the middle of a road, pedestrians, and people driving by, often stopped to ask what I was taking a picture of. ('This Gray Petaltail, of course!')."

Another time, Wood was in the middle of patiently stalking one particularly large and wary species of dragonfly known as the "Dragonhunter" because it often preys on very large insects (including other dragonflies). As he was wading through waist-deep water, trying to get close enough for a photo, the beast flew up and landed on top of his hat.

Wood, along with being an arborist, has run Rappahannock Nature Camp here in the county for almost 20 years. He'll share more about his study of dragonflies and damselflies at the Rappahannock County Library on November 8, at 7 p.m., where he'll give a slide presentation titled "Life In Water and Air: Dragonflies and Damselflies." This program, sponsored by the Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection's Biodiversity Task Force, is free and suitable for all ages. For more information, contact Pam Owen at 540-675-9989 or Biodiversity@RLEP.org.