Into Turtle Cove – dragonflies and their neighbors
Following some rain early in the week, we had a few sunny days to explore Turtle Cove at the NW end of Pleasant Lake.
Things are picking up in the cove with the warm weather. Many of the insects that were around last summer are finally beginning to appear. Here is a sample of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) and some other creatures of the cove.
Damselflies usually have their wings closed together over their slender abdomens. Here are three other common damselflies on Pleasant Lake.
Dragonflies also are common in the Cove. They are larger and have fully spread wings when at rest. Here are six common species now in the cove. Dragonflies and damselflies were the first animals to take flight – over 300 million years ago. Some dragonflies back then had wingspans close to two feet!
All photos by Jen Esten and Jon Waage.