Starting in 2014, I’ve participated in two projects involving dragonflies, though I haven’t seen as many dragonflies as in the past. Alarming!
- Odonata Central: I submit photos of any dragonflies I find in my yard.
- Migratory Dragonfly Partnership: Focuses on tracking dragonfly migration, and they’re especially interested in a few target species.
Reflections
Odonates may seem like a well-studied group, but there is still a lot we don’t know about their distribution, ecology, and behavior, especially when it comes to their spectacular annual migrations. The dragonfly species best known as regular migrants in North America are wetland-dependent, and you may find Common Green Darners (Anax junius), Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata), Wandering Gliders (Pantala flavescens), Spot-Winged Gliders (Pantala hymenaea), or Variegated Meadowhawks (Sympetrum corruptum) visiting your pond or its surroundings to rest, hunt, and possibly even mate and lay eggs, depending on the species.
~ Celeste Mazzacano et. al., Backyard Ponds: Guidelines for Creating and Managing Habitat for Dragonflies and Damselflies, published by the Migratory Dragonfly Partnership