PAW PAW, Mich. — Dragonflies and damselflies are some of the most beautiful insects in Michigan, with large heads and very large compound eyes, but they are also some of the oldest insects on earth. More than 80% of their brain is devoted to analyzing visual information. Dragonflies and damselflies have tiny antennae and their mouths have been adapted for biting, making them efficient hunters to whatever prey is abundant such as termites, ants, gnats, and a variety of flies. Both dragonflies and damselflies have two pairs of long transparent wings with a strong cross-vein and many small veins that criss-cross in the wings, adding strength and flexibility for flying. However, the major difference is the way that these two species hold their wings while resting. Dragonflies do not have hinges enabling them to fold their wings together when resting, meaning their wings stay open like an airplane. Damselflies, on the other hand, are able to fold their wings together behind them when they land and rest.
But the dragonflies and damselflies we see flitting about near the water aren’t how they always look. Before they are adults, they live in rivers and streams during their larval or nymph stage. A larval damselfly body is longer and narrower with three fin-like gills fanning from the end. Dragonfly nymphs are shorter and stockier, and the gills are located inside the abdomen. Most of their lives are spent in the larval stage (up to six years!), where it molts up to fifteen times in order to grow. During the end of this development stage, the nymph crawls up out of the water and molts one last time, emerging from its skin as an adult with functional wings. This is when you may see dragonflies and damselflies flying around bodies of water throughout summer and fall.
Sunday, May 6, starts the fourth season of macroinvertebrate (aquatic insect) collection by citizen volunteers on the streams in Van Buren County. Dragonfly and damselfly nymphs are some of the types of insects that are collected by volunteers. “Collecting macroinvertebrates is important because of what it tells us about the health of the stream.” Says AJ Brucks, Director of the Van Buren Conservation District, “The number and diversity of species of insects that are present in a stream is a good indicator of the water quality and finding dragonflies and damselflies is a good thing.”
Volunteers will meet at River Park in Lawrence, MI at 9:00 a.m. After a brief orientation, volunteers will be divided into teams led by members of Two Rivers Coalition and Conservation District staff and will travel to collection sites in either the Black River or Paw Paw River watershed. Some members of the team will wear chest-waders and walk in the stream collecting aquatic insects with scoop nets from a variety of habitats such as submerged logs, woody debris, undercut banks, etc. Other team members will be on the bank sorting and picking through the contents of the nets looking for the small wriggling insects which are then preserved for identification the next day, Monday, May 7 (1pm-4pm at the Conservation District office 1035 E. Michigan Ave.).
No prior experience is necessary. According to Kevin Haight, president of TRC, “This is a fun activity for people of all ages and levels of physical fitness. Not everyone needs to wade in the stream; it is just as important to have pickers working on the streambank scrutinizing what comes out of the nets.” Weather and water levels permitting, each team will collect from both a river location and a smaller tributary stream and should be back to River Park in Lawrence by 1:00 p.m. Participants should dress appropriately for weather, and possible wet and muddy conditions during the small hike through grassy or wooded areas to the collection site.
Anyone interested in participating in this unique citizen science opportunity should contact VBCD at: 269-657-4030 x5 for more information or show up by 9am at Lawrence River Park on Sunday, May 6.
— Van Buren Conservation District
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