Dragonflies

Posted by Sue Burns

Guess Who Came to Dinner

At a recent Rotary meeting, Burt Wilkins asked a question just loud enough for a few people nearby to hear.

"Has anyone seen a lot of dragonflies this year? They seem to be all over our yard."

Here's some background info about our visitors, courtesy of the 4-H Center in Cape May Court House. .

<v:V:PATH o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"><o:O:LOCK v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t">The Latin family for these visitors is macrodiplax baleata, but they are more widely known as "marl pennat". They are native to North Carolina on this continent, but have probably been attracted to our hot summer to find food. Of course the NJ mosquitoes are nocturnal, so the marl pennat has

to be more assertive to find our local cuisine. As all insects are cold-blooded, these visitors will probably head on down back home when the heat wave lifts.

Respectfully submitted,

Mike Bolicki