My camera gets a good workout when I’m in Vermont. With the ever-changing sky show, the mountains, the meadows, the wildflowers, and the butterflies, I spend a lot of time looking through the lens (and I didn’t even mention my grandsons!). This year I got a special bonus as our visit coincided with the metamorphosis of dragonflies. We were noticing more and more of the insects lying around looking a bit stunned, and my daughter-in-law took her curious boys on a search for the reason. She discovered a shady, grassy spot behind the picnic table where dragonfly nymphs had collected, and we got to watch in amazement as the insects emerged. I didn’t know anything about the dragonfly life cycle, but it’s fascinating. The eggs are laid in the calm water of a lake or pond, and when the nymphs emerge underwater, it can take from one to four years for them to develop. When a nymph is fully grown and the weather is warm enough, it crawls out of the water onto a stick (or, in our case, a picnic table leg) and begins to gulp air to expand its body. This causes the outer skin to split, allowing the dragonfly to pull itself out. It takes a while, and once it’s out it has to wait for its wings to fully unfurl and harden, making it vulnerable to predators (and small boys). When its wings are dry, it heads out over the water to find a mate and start the cycle over again. It was a miracle to watch the process over several days, and the grown-ups were as impressed as the kids.
Though I’m no expert, I’m guessing that these were wide-tipped clubtails (genus Gomphus).