NORTHWEST OHIO — Dragonflies are out and about these days. Zipping, dipping and darting, performing high-speed maneuvers, feasting on thousands of insect pests — especially mosquitoes.
Look for them in flight or on open perches where they can scan and locate prey, all while monitoring other dragonflies entering their territory.
Thousands of species of dragonflies are known worldwide; 164 have been recorded in Ohio. Look for them in and around the typically still or slow-moving waters where most of them and their aquatic larva feed — often on mosquito larva. They’ll emerge to shed larva skin and take flight as adults.
The adults often sport beautiful iridescent colors and have great names to go with them.
There are dashers, dancers and darters. Skimmers, pondhawks, cruisers, forktails, pennants and gliders. And then there are meadowhawks. Great names for well-adapted predators.
