I honestly don’t know. This is the time of year when we get those dangerously low overnight temperatures, so it’s quite possible that we won’t be seeing dragonflies or damselflies around until next year. I captured this little guy’s picture several days ago, and we’ve had some cold snaps since then.

The past couple of years have been very good to the dragonfly. This summer at the capitol I saw several that looked like small birds, hovering over the lawn on the commons area and feasting on mosquitoes. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was unable to spend as much time as I’d hoped in the wetlands areas. This led to a lack of dragonly or damselfly photos. I’ve had some really nice ones in the past, but this year slipped away too quickly.

Dragonflies are your friend as a North Dakotan. They seem to keep pest insects to a minimum, and anything that can accomplish that feat is a friend indeed! The Japanese kept praying mantises in their bedrooms to eat insect pests; maybe some guy needs to find a way to put a leash on a dragonfly…