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Dragonflies: They’re everywhere! They’re everywhere!! Why so many this year?!

If you’ve spent much time outside this summer, you may have noticed a preponderance of dragonflies and damselflies. Both John Gallegos, biologist at BBNWR, and Kyle Barbour, Dir. of FCSP, theorized that the population explosion is a result of all the rain this area has experienced this summer. These creatures begin their lives in an aquatic environment that is very similar to the ones used by mosquito larvae. Just like mosquitoes, members of the order Odonata are killed by pesticides, but unlike those pesky biters, dragonflies really do help us by eating many of the biting flies that drive us crazy! The damselflies are smaller and more slender than the dragonflies with wings that fold back over the abdomen, unlike the dragonflies whose wings rest out at their sides. Damselflies don’t eat the biting flies, but they do enjoy dining on mosquitoes. So...if you do see any Odonates zooming around your yard, consider yourself lucky to have such great neighbors!

The foregoing article was printed in the Back Bay Restoration Foundation NEWSLETTER dated July/August 2003.

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