American rubyspot damselfly

August 23, 2024

Some days it’s really hard for me to push myself out the door and go for a picture walk—even though it’s something I love to do. Today was one of those days. I’d already gone for a long, leisurely walk with friends earlier in the day, and I’d already taken enough pictures. There was no logical reason to go out again. But it was a perfectly beautiful day; not hot, not humid, not windy. It would be a shame to waste all that loveliness by sitting in the house– and I would always wonder what I’d missed if I didn’t go. As it turned out, I would have missed everything!

My walk started out, as it often does, down by the creek behind our house where the dragonflies gather. I’ve found blue dashers, familiar bluets, slaty skimmers, Eastern pondhawks, and Eastern amberwings at the creek all summer long, but today there was a surprise–an American rubyspot damselfly! It’s one of the prettiest little damselflies I’ve ever seen, but rarely find. My trip out the door had already paid off!

Next on my route was the nearby WMU Business Technology and Research Park with its vast expanse of prairie grasses and wildflowers where I was hoping to find a few lingering butterflies or, perhaps, the first praying mantis of the season. There were so many possibilities! What first caught my attention, though, was a stunning green darner dragonfly, floating above the grasses looking for a place to land. I rarely see them, or get a picture, so I tracked its movements through the air hoping it would land somewhere that would be easy enough to photograph. Unfortunately, it chose a spot about 15 feet away and below my line of sight. I carefully picked my way through the high grass hoping to find it, hoping not to disturb it, and hoping not to acquire a few ticks along the way! I succeeded on all counts!

**Female Common Green Darner Dragonfly**

The fields of tall grass and wild flowers at the business park have beautifully mowed trails all the way through. One of those paths that I particularly like to walk has praying mantises along the way–and now is the time to find them!

**WMU Business Technology and Research Park mowed path**

They like hanging out on the tall stalks as they look for love. But they’re so well camouflaged that it’s almost impossible to find them! It’s like the ultimate Where’s Waldo challenge, but without the red and white striped hats to distinguish them! Sometimes, I’ll find 10 or more on a single walk; today I only found one, but it was almost as exciting as winning the lottery! And there were more surprises ahead!

After spotting the praying mantis, I very quietly and cautiously headed over to the small pond across the road where I once found a giant snapping turtle draped across a large rock. On rare occasions, I’ve also found a great blue heron standing motionlessly along the edges waiting for its his next meal to swim by.

**Giant Snapping turtle that I found on a previous visit to the pond behind Floyd Hall**

I’d barely crossed the road when I spotted the great blue heron! He was standing on the opposite side of the pond in his familiar stoic pose. From experience, I knew this bird might not move for a very long time. Great blue herons are extremely patient birds as they wait for their next meal. I took a few pictures as he stood there, and then I too waited, hoping for a better shot. Eventually, this magnificent bird very cautiously moved one of its legs, and then the other as it crept forward into the water. It occurred to me in that quiet moment of concentration that we were both doing the very same thing; standing quietly and watching our prey, then moving ever so slowly towards it, hoping to make the catch!

From the pond behind Floyd Hall, I headed over to another pond where I hoped to find one of the green herons that visited regularly. What first caught my eye, though, was a mallard hybrid of some sort that had a wide band of white around its neck. It was wider than I what I usually see on a male mallard and I worried that it might be a piece of plastic. So, I zoomed in and quickly realized that this was just another goofy looking duck. Mallards breed with a wide variety of other ducks including domestic ducks, American black ducks and Northern pintails– all of which result in some very odd-looking offspring, including this one!

**The odd duck with the wide white neck band**

But my best surprise was still waiting for me.

I went to the footbridge that crosses over the pond hoping to find the elusive green heron. As I stood at one end of the bridge with my camera pointed towards the pond, a red-tailed hawk landed on the railing to my left at the other end of the bridge– only 20 feet away! It took my breath away! I really, really wanted a picture but I didn’t know if my settings were right, and I knew if he saw me move, he’d fly away. So, I very, very slowly turned my camera in his direction and quickly took a burst of shots, hoping for the best. Perhaps he noticed my barely perceptible movements or heard the click of my camera; within fifteen seconds, he was gone! Wow! I’ve never been that close to a hawk before!

**Red-tailed Hawk on the footbridge 20 feet from me!**

**The hawk turned in my direction and took off as quickly as he came**

After the hawk flew off, the green heron flew in and I got the shot!

**Green Heron contemplating his next meal**

On my slow amble towards home, a few butterflies posed politely for pictures and my picture walk was complete!

**Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on spotted knapweed**

It was the best day ever– among a bucketful of best days where I’ve been lucky enough to still do all the things I love.

**Monarch Butterfly on spotted knapweed**

I love dragonflies! But I didn’t know this until I started taking pictures. Without my camera, and without the ability to bring up pictures on my computer, I had no idea that dragonflies were so beautiful, that they came in such a wide variety of sizes and colors, that their wings were such masterpieces of engineering, or that there were so many different kinds!

**Twelve-spotted Skimmer** **Dragonfly**

Over the course of my photography journey, I’ve found almost every color dragonfly imaginable including red, white, blue, green, purple, orange, black, brown, and pink! These little creatures are not just candy for the eyes, they’re amazing acrobats as well; flying deftly in all directions like miniature helicopters!

For clarification, there are both dragonflies and damselflies. Collectively, they are known as Odonata. To the casual observer, dragonflies and damselflies probably look the same. They both have 6 legs, a head, and an abdomen; both have two pairs of transparent wings, bulgy eyes, and stick-like bodies. But there are a couple of features that help differentiate the two: body shape and wing position.

Dragonflies have bodies that are much thicker and bulkier than damselflies and because of their heftier size, it’s more likely that you’ll notice a dragonfly long before you’ll ever see the tiny, delicate-looking damselflies. When dragonflies are at rest, they hold their wings perpendicular to their bodies like an airplane. Damselflies, on the other hand, fold their wings up and hold them together across the top of their backs.

I much prefer the dragonflies to the damselflies, mostly because they’re bigger and much easier to photograph, and because I can more readily capture the details in their wings. Had I been around 300 million years ago, when dragonflies were first evolving, it would have been even easier to get a picture! Those early insects had wingspans of two feet or more! Today’s dragonflies have wingspans of less than five inches!

Common Green Darner Dragonfly recently emerged

Over the years, I’ve found so many different dragonflies that I’ve lost track of how many. Worldwide, there are at least 5000 different species, with dragonflies being much more common than damselflies. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. Here in the United States, there are about 450 different kinds of dragonflies and damselflies. In my home state of Michigan, we have about 165 different kinds, and I’m pretty sure I’ve found most of them!

What is most interesting to me is their life cycle, and their peculiar sex lives! Dragonflies have three life stages: egg, nymph, and adult. The female lays her eggs in the water throughout the summer where they hatch and grow into nymphs. Some of those nymphs will remain in the water over the winter and emerge as adults the following summer. Some will remain in the water for years! While underwater, the dragonfly nymph will eat just about anything it can grab —tadpoles, mosquitoes, fish, other insect larvae and even each other!

**Female Common Whitetail Dragonfly depositing eggs in the water**

When the nymph is ready to metamorphose into an adult, it stops eating and makes its way to the surface of the water where it climbs up a reed and crawls out of its larval skin or exoskeleton. Once it emerges from its exoskeleton, the dragonfly becomes a skillful and prolific predator. Nearly every minute of its day is spent devouring the insects that annoy us —like mosquitoes, gnats, cicadas, and flies! One dragonfly alone can eat hundreds of mosquitoes a day! Predators that like to eat dragonflies include birds, fish, frogs, bees, bats, spiders, and other dragonflies!

**Eastern Kingbird feeding dragonflies to her babies**

Dragonfly sex is a rough-and-tumble affair. Their sexual coupling requires the flexibility and acrobatic skill of a “Cirque de Soleil” performer. During mating, the male grasps the female at the back of the head, and the female curls her abdomen under her body to pick up sperm from the male’s secondary genitalia at the front of his abdomen, forming a “heart” or “wheel” shape. In the process, females get bitten, males get scratched, and sperm winds up all over the place! After the deed is done, mama dragonfly lays her eggs by tapping the surface of the water repeatedly with her abdomen, or by shaking the eggs out of her abdomen as she flies along, or by placing the eggs on vegetation.

**Halloween Pennant Dragonflies mating (male at the top)**

**Female Shadow Darner Dragonfly depositing eggs**

Unfortunately, loss of wetland habitat is a big threat to our dragonfly populations around the world. At least one in ten species of dragonfly are threatened with extinction, according to the first world survey of their numbers. The loss of a dragonfly population threatens the loss of other creatures in that food chain. Ultimately, the loss of any one species is a loss for all of us.

Tag: American rubyspot damselfly

Some Days…

For the Love of Dragonflies!