Insect Order Odonata-Anisoptera (Dragonflies)

Whle fishing the West Branch of the Ausable River this weekend I came across an area that had dozens of empty dragon fly nypmh shucks on the rocks. There was a small feeder stream right by this area.

I fished another spot where there was a small feeder stream, and again, there were dozens of empty dragonfly nymph shuck here too.

These were the only places I saw any empty shucks and was just curious if it wasn't just a coincidence that both areas where the nymphs chose to emerge were near feeder streams?

Our great discussion of hellgrammites included a very interesting little tangent about the feeding habits of dragonflies which I'm copying into the dragonfly section.

Martinlf wrote:

This is pure trivia, and non-hellgrammite related, but Brett's comments on the discards of bats and nighthawks reminded me of an experience on the Delaware. I was fishing with a guide and we saw several mayfly wing and thorax combos floating along with missing abdomens. At first we hypothesized that a small trout must have bitten the abdomen right off. Then we saw a dragonfly intercept a sulphur mid flight, chew up the abdomen almost instantly, and let the wings and thorax fall, helicoptering like a winged maple seed. This is probably not news to the entomologists here, but some everyday anglers might not have yet noticed this phenomenon. Gonzo, do we have a wing and thorax tie yet?

Gonzo replied:

Louis,

I haven't found trout to be that interested in dragonfly discards, but you never know. I am reminded of an evening on Mud Run when my fishing partner's fly mysteriously ascended skyward, towing a good portion of the tip of his fly line. His fly, while having a minimal effect on the trout we were pursuing, was sufficiently convincing to a large dragonfly--a testament to the powerful flight and lifting capabilities of these insects!

I love watching dragonflies feed on mayflies, but I admit I've never noticed the falling discards. I'll keep an eye out for them next season. A good photo sequence of the phenomenon would be awesome, but I think my photography skills would need to jump several orders of magnitude to capture such a thing in action.

This goes for all Gomphidae. If the prementum is flat, and the animal has 4 segments in each antenna, and two-segmented fore and middle tarsi, and a ligula with no median cleft--Gomphid. The Corduligastridae have a spoon-shaped prementum and a cleft in the middle of toothlike processes on ligula. Now you'll know whenever you catch more Odonata.