First Dragonflies of the Year: Green Darner

Last week I spotted my first dragonflies of 2010. They were green darners of course. Some green darner dragonflies actually migrate south, sort of like birds or monarch butterflies. Their migration is a little bit different though. Unlike birds or monarchs the green darners that migrate south reproduce and lay eggs when they reach their southern destination and then they die, as most dragonflies and butterflies do shortly after laying their eggs.

The eggs hatch into the larval form of the dragonfly in the warm southern waters over the winter months and then emerge as dragonflies in the spring. These dragonfly then head north, which is why they are usually the first dragonflies that we see each spring. When they reach their northern destination they will mate, lay eggs, and then die. Their offspring which emerge in early fall will then migrate south again beginning the circle once more. This dragonfly was a fresh emergent last August. You can tell that she had recently emerged by how shinny her wings are. She landed in this evergreen to dry her wings before she would take off into the world which made for a great macro opportunity.