BACKYARD DRAGONFLIES
Dictionary.com defines "odonate" as "any of the large predacious winged insects of the order Odonata, which includes the dragonflies and damselflies, characterized by long brightly colored bodies, two pairs of membranous wings, and large compound eyes".
The document below is an article by Josh Rose from an email listserv dedicated to odonates. In his message Josh relates his introduction to the storm water holding pond at Hillendale Golf Course and offers some pointers to folks who would like to start backyard dragonfly ponds.
Sat, 13 Jul 2002
Howdy folks,
A question we frequently hear on odonate listservs is "how can I make my backyard pond attractive to dragonflies?"
Well, I was running an errand today and stumbled across an interesting-looking pond. It had several species on territory, all widespread ones known for tolerance of low dissolved oxygen, sedimentation, and other symptoms of human proximity:
What made the pond noteworthy was that it was an artificial one, and a pretty young one at that, and filled with suspect water. It had been constructed in May 2000 as a stormwater holding wetland to keep runoff from entering Ellerbe Creek. Not only had it been filled with storm-drain runoff, but the pond is also located on the edge of a golf course, and stocked with Gambusia affinis (Mosquitofish). Under such circumstances, the ond was fortunate to have any odonates at all, much less six species! Here is a photo of the pond as it looked two years ago: http://www.ellerbecreek.org/stormwater%20wetland.htm
People who want to attract odonates to their yards could probably successfully follow this model. This place already has six species just during my one ten-minute look around, only two years after being constructed, despite relatively hostile circumstances. Places with better quality water and friendlier habitat nearby might be colonized with greater diversity.
The e-mail contact for the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association (who put up the web page and initiated the pond construction) can probably share lots of details, including the species and number of plants they planted; I remember Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), arrowheads, cattails, water lilies, etc. but there was quite a variety... Depending where you live relative to local drainage patterns, some folks may even be able to use the same water source, especially those who live near large expanses of pavement or rooftop that generate lots of runoff. And anyone who uses a construct like this to protect a stream or creek might find that species sensitive to runoff and sedimentation return to their creek eventually too! Might even be worth promoting to your local civic officials...
Cheers
Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology