The Boys of Summer

For me, Dragonflies really define the summer season on our local trout lakes. Many adults emerge in late spring to early summer and can survive for up to two months by feeding on all of the other bugs (both aquatic and terrestrial) that emerge throughout the summer. The adults are acrobatic fliers and are fun to watch as the patrol their shoreline territory for prey, potential suitors, or intruders. As long as adult Dragonflies are around you know it's summer.

Here are a few shots from this past summer:

Spiny Baskettail (Epitheca spinigera)

American Emerald (Cordulia shurtleffii)

Variable Darner (Aeshna interrupta) laying eggs in a rotten log

Epitheca spinigera soaking up some summer rays

Shortly after emerging several adults are resting on lakeside foliage.
They will eventually disperse; some flying several kilometers from their birthplace.