This Handsome Dragonfly...

This handsome dragonfly and his friends like to hang around the ponds at Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center because that’s where they grew up! After their mom laid them as tiny eggs at the bottom of the pond, they emerged and became dragonfly nymphs. Their childhood was spent entirely underwater eating aquatic bugs. Some species of dragonflies will stay as nymphs for five years! When they are big enough, they will go through incomplete metamorphosis, doing a slow backwards somersault out of their old skin and emerging as a full grown adult. For the short summer months, they will live as adults, eating hundreds of mosquitoes a day and enjoying new views of the pond they call home. Watch a video of a dragonfly metamorphosis: http://dragonflywebsite.com/ShowNatureVideos.cfm?action=show&videoid=39