BLOG 5: Dragons!

I’d like to start my blog today with a short, spooky rhyme of unknown origin because I get the feeling the author was playing on the word “Dragonfly.” 

Dragging Flies

Don’t wonder down the Rib Rock Path  

Where it traverses Demon’s Glen  

For the dragging flies will grab you

And then you’ll not be seen again!

They’ll swarm upon you, hundreds strong 

Tangling snuggly within your hair

And then they’ll screech and buzz their wings

And you’ll be dragged off through the air.

I don’t know where it came from or who composed it but I thought it would be a neat way to kick this off!

Or maybe it wasn’t? Who knows!?? Anyway…onward to today’s blog!

For some reason our backyard is heavily populated with dragonflies! I have always known them to exist near ponds or lakes but we have no water near my house whatsoever!  It’s just dry, rocky, mountainous woodlands.  So why all the dragonflies? It’s crazy!  I thought it might be interesting to stroll around the grounds today and see if I could get close enough to any of these critters to get some decent shots.  It wasn’t easy! Chasing after these little speed demons on a 90 degree day in the blazing sun is a kind of self-imposed torture! I’ll do anything for my blog though!  Is that devotion or insanity? Maybe a bit of both?

Anyway, I was able to identify 3 different species.  Actually I was able to identify 4 but I just couldn’t manage to get close enough to the reddish ones! They were just too wary and fast. If I can manage to grab a photograph of one I’ll update this blog and add it at the end.

Out of the ones I did get pictures of, this is the most common. I’m pretty sure this is the “Black-faced” or “Spangled” Skimmer (Libellula cyanea).  

It’s about 2” long and according to “The Audubon Society Field Guide To North American Insects And Spiders” (gee, could they make that title any longer!?)  They are found near ponds and slow streams.  What ponds or slow streams? We have none of that! Not even nearby! Maybe they like my music? I listen to my CDs near an open window so you never know! Yeah, not MP3s…CDs!  I must sound like I’m 110 to anyone under 25.

After doing some reading around the ol’ Interweb I also learned that the females are yellow and black like that one above and mature males are uniformly blue. I haven’t seen any blue ones so now that makes me wonder why the land in back of our house is occupied by hordes of female skimmers. What’s up with that?

They especially like swarming around the invasive Bull Thistles that seem to be everywhere in the Poconos! 

I don’t think dragonflies really care much about flowers so I’m assuming they hang out there to pick off small flying bugs that are attracted to these purple flowers. Yes folks, dragonflies ARE predatory!  Meat eaters! Hope I haven’t upset too many of you!

The second type I see scooting around through the hot air are The Common Whitetail or Long-tailed Skimmer Dragonflies (Plathemis lydia).  I’m pretty sure this is a female:

And this ones the male!

And check this out from Wikipedia, “The Common Whitetail can be seen hawking for mosquitoes and other small flying insects over ponds, marshes, and slow-moving rivers in most regions except the higher mountain regions…” 

Again we don’t have any marshes or ponds around here and how much higher can you get then the Poconos?  OK, I mean you have things like the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina at 6,643 ft  and The White Mountains in New Hampshire at 6,288 ft but we’re The Pocono Mountains at a respectable 2,693 ft! And if you don’t think that’s very high consider what it’s like to a 2” long dragonfly! SO what’s going on here? Who knows!

Yes, I know comparing all those elevation was just riveting and you probably want more but I want to get to the last, and my favorite dragonfly! I only saw one of these beauties and was lucky to approach close enough to take this shot!

This is (Erythemis simpliciollis) the Green Clearwing or Eastern Pondhawk or The Common Pondhawk, (or the bug with too many damn names!)   The females are bright green and the adult males are blue and green.  Young males are green with square blackish spots on the abdomen so I’m guessing this was a young male...

but if you have an ID to the contrary please let me know! I’m the furthest thing from an entomologist…and I don’t know much about insects either. 

Here’s another befuddling tidbit I came across on-line about where green clearwing common pondhawks live, “Habitat: Most quiet waters…including slightly brackish waters but not bogs. Usually associated with mats of algae, duckweed, water lilies, or other flat, floating plants.”  

I don’t get it! This scrub land is my back yard! Where are the mats of algae and duckweed?

Well I can’t leave you with that! It looks like vacant lot (and we like it that way!)  So here are some interesting dragonfly factoids to impress your friends tonight in case there isn’t anything good on TV:

Did you know?

- People used to believe that sleeping outside put you at risk of having your eyes sewn shut by the dragonfly or "darning needle."

- Some Dragonflies can fly at nearly 60 miles per hour!

- Dragonflies cannot walk.

- All dragonflies have excellent vision. They can see colors that are beyond human visual capabilities, such as ultraviolet and infrared!

- And finally…I wrote the poem at the beginning! I admit it! I’m guilty!

OK, that’s enough of that!  Thanks for reading and be sure to check back in a few days when I’m sure to post yet another confounding installment of Kieran’s Critters! And feel free to leave any comments, questions, corrections or fanciful bits of nonsense!