Dragonflies
June 22, 2007
A couple of weeks ago, I went dragonflying in Sussex County and got a whole new appreciation for both the hobby and the bug. (The birding was darned good, too.)
I did a story on dragonflying in today's Record, pegged to a dragonfly conference in Sussex, which has the most recorded species in the entire country.
(The story's on Page L-3, for those who get The Record at home.)
I am told that places like the Celery Farm are very good dragonflying spots for beginners and for people who just like to watch these nifty bugs.
For those who keep life lists, pristine places like High Point State Park are more attractive.
The reason that Bergen County does not have rarer species is that the rarer species need clean water to breed.
The Celery Farm and its streams, which get hit hard with stormwater runoff (pesticides, road grime, pet waste) every time we get a heavy rain just don't have much of a chance.
The Celery Farm does have several nice species, however, including (I am told) ebony jewelwings, blue dashers, lots of amberwings, and lots of common whitetails. (No, not deer, though I know we have plenty of those, too.)
It might be fun for some of us to start keeping track and comparing notes.
Dragonfliers, arise.
(Note: The photo at the top of this posting is a relatively rare one that I photographed in Sussex after an expert had caught it with a butterfly net. It's called an arrowhead spiketail.)