Page 36 - 2020 May/June Outdoor Oklahoma

ready to lay eggs in or near a source of water.
Eggs hatch in one to eight weeks. Odes go
through incomplete metamorphosis, so instead
of a caterpillar stage, they hatch out as an under-

water larval stage (called a nymph). They prey
upon other aquatic insects and as they grow, and
they will molt periodically. For their final molt
into adulthood, they climb out of the water onto
a cattail, boat dock or something similar. The top
of the thorax splits, and the new adult pulls itself
out. Fluid pumps into the wings, which expand and
harden. The young adult (called a teneral) is still
not mature. It still takes a couple weeks for it to

obtain its full adult coloring, and then the cycle
starts over again.
Observing dragonflies and damselflies has
become a popular hobby. The best place to look
for them is along any body of water. It doesn’t
require special equipment, but close-focusing bin-
oculars and a field guide are good tools to have.

A new book about these insects in Oklahoma,
“Dragonflies at a Biogeographical Crossroads: The
Odonata of Oklahoma and Complexities Beyond
Its Borders,” is planned for release in June. (https://
www.crcpress.com/9780367440350). This lavish-
ly illustrated book written by Brenda D. Smith and
Michael A. Patten, two Oklahoma Biological Survey

34 OUTDOOR OKLAHOMA