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Where Did All These Dragonflies Come From?

Where Did All These Dragonflies Come From?
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By Easton Sanders
Aug. 04, 2020 | WESTERN KENTUCKY
By Easton Sanders Aug. 04, 2020 | 04:59 PM | WESTERN KENTUCKY
You may have noticed the abundance of dragonflies across the region. Experts say this is due to past excessive rainfall.

According to Donald Lewis with the Department of Entomology at Iowa State University, an abundance of dragonflies is caused by excessive rainfall that occurred one to three years ago.

Lewis says that dragonflies develop as nymphs in rivers, streams, and lakes. Most end up taking at least one year to develop from the egg to the adult stage, although some take two to three years. The swarms of dragonflies we are currently seeing are at least one year old. 

According to the National Weather Service in Paducah, 2019 saw higher than average rainfall, which likely contributed to the large number of dragonflies we are seeing this summer.

West Kentucky Star spoke with Samantha Anderson, Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources at the McCracken County Extension Office about the dragonflies.

Anderson says an increase of the insects is always a good sign.

"We want to see dragonflies out because dragonflies of course eat mosquitoes and other flying pests." Anderson said, "If you see them in your yard, they can look rather threatening, they are large, but they are a good thing and we like to see them in our yard."

She continued, "Anytime there's wet weather we know that the chance of mosquitoes increase. Mosquitoes breed in wet environments, so seeing them [dragonflies] around is good, they can keep the mosquito populations under control."

You can find additional information on dragonflies at the links below.

On the Net:

Why so Many Dragonflies?
Dragonfly Information
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