Today at Aldo Leopold Nature Center a group of cold hardy kindergarteners braved the wind to see spring happenings in the pond and prairie. We made our way to the pond and took a few dips to see if any creatures are awake yet. A dozen small backswimmers jumped around in our net, as well as a minnow or two. Then we found this: the first dragonfly nymph of the season! A dragonfly's life cycle has three stages: egg, nymph, and adult. An adult will deposit eggs in the water or on a plant. The nymphs, as you can see, do not have wings and live entirely underwater, for up to 4 years as they grow to adult size! This one was fairly large, which makes me think it overwintered as a nymph and is a least one year old. When ready, this nymph will crawl out onto the stem of a plant and shed its skin, completing a transformation to a winged adult. Imagine walking around at the bottom of a pond until the age of 22 and then growing wings and flying everywhere you go. Watch for adult dragonflies to start returning from their migrations as soon as insects around up and flying again.
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