First Day Dragonfly Success!

When my interest in dragonflies materialized and intensified in July 2008, there was one large darner-type species - Common Green Darner - that was one of the few of this group easily identified on the wing. The powder blue coloration on the anterior half of the abdomen of males was unique for darners found in Montana. And it is a very good thing that this coloration made ID easy because my attempts at capturing this species were frustratingly futile, often amusingly so! They are exceedingly fast fliers and have reaction times that are likely measured in milliseconds. A conservative estimate is that I have taken hundreds of swings with my net with nary a single successful one. The only exception to this was a recently emerged one I caught last October, only because it could not yet fly very well.

Our weather has finally warmed up here in Montana, so last Wednesday, I embarked on my first dragonfly day of the year at locality where I had seen many green darners in past years. This species is migratory and is probably the first large dragonfly to appear in Montana. And they were there in numbers when I arrived at the selected pond. Single males patrolling the shoreline were fairly common and I also noted several pairs looking for appropriate sites to lay eggs. And again, my efforts to net these "jet helicopters" were met with much frustration. Close but no cigar!

One of the keys in capturing these bugs seemed to be finding a location along the shoreline where one could hide behind some vegetation to meld into the background. I located such a site on the other side of the pond and settled in for a while, missing the first several opportunities I had. But there were several coupled pairs that I decided to concentrate on because they don't seem to be quite as skittish when they are looking for an appropriate place to deposit eggs on emergent or floating vegetation. And then FINALLY!! A pair came swooping past me and I caught them! Three years of frustration had finally come to an end! Here is a male in hand.After the capture, I placed the male and female separately on some nearby vegetation and they cooperated long enough for me to get some pictures. The females are not quite as colorful as the males, but they are still a handsome creature. And who is complaining? Certainly not me!

As luck would have it, shortly after I finished photographing this couple, another pair landed nearby and I was able to carefully approach within five or so feet on them. But rather than try to capture them, I decided to take some pictures instead. There was no good reason to push my luck!