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A dragonfly is an insect that has huge compound eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated, sometimes iridescent body. Dragonflies possess six legs, but they are not capable of walking. They use their legs to hold prey. Dragonflies are similar to damselflies, but dragonflies hold their wings away from, and perpendicular to, the body when at rest. Both dragonflies and damselflies are predators that eat mosquitoes, and other small insects like flies, bees, ants, and butterflies. They have freely movable heads and sharp mouthparts to chew up insects. Dragonflies live around lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands because their larvae, called nymphs, are aquatic. Adults can fly in six directions: upward, downward, forward, back, and side to side. That is because unlike other insects, they can move their wings independently. Dragonflies also fly very quickly compared to other insects. Adults live five or six months. Thank you, Laurie Sheppard, for the photos below. Click on each thumbnail to enlarge. | Halloween Pennant by Laurie Sheppard
Roseate Skimmer by Rick Cantu
Fragile Forktale by Laurie Sheppard
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Banded Pennant | Black Saddlebags | Blue Dasher Male | Blue Dasher Female |
Checkered Setwing Male | Checkered Setwing Female | Common Whitetail Male | Common Whitetail Female |
Eastern Amberwing In Flight | Eastern Amberwing Female | Eastern Pondhawk Male | Eastern Pondhawk Female |
Familiar Bluet | Flag-tailed Spiny Leg | Four-Spotted Pennant | Halloween Pennant |
Red Saddlebags Female | Roseate Skimmer Immature | Roseate Skimmer | Slaty Skimmer |
Variegated Meadohawk Female | Widow Skimmer Female | Widow Skimmer | Widow Skimmer Female top view |
Cindy Steele produced an excellent article on dragonflies: DragonFlies The article says it is for children, but the detail level is exceptional! |
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6465 Refuge Road Sherman, TX 75092
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Kroger: Stop by the customer service desk at Kroger and link your Kroger Card to the Friends of Hagerman: the Friends will get rewards for every dollar you spend, at no cost to you.
Please add friendsofhagerman@gmail.com to your contacts to ensure delivery of registration confirmations, account information and the Featherless Flyer
Special thanks to Nancy Miller for the amazing photo of the Visitor Center
See you at the refuge!