So, is there really a die-off occurring (it would seem so to us lay folk)? And, if so, what can should be done?
Halloween Pennant Dragonfly photo by Carlos Rivera.
For a third thing, there are the dragonflies. Ten years ago, dozens of dragonflies patrolled our backyard from dawn to dusk, June to September, clearing the air of midges, flies and other downright pests. But for the last four or five summers, their numbers have been scant. This past summer you could go a whole afternoon without seeing one. The same dragonfly — and damselfly — decline has happened in the Unity park. My unscientific observation is that I used to see Halloween pennants, among others, copiously in the reed canary grass near the basketball courts. Three or four years ago, I seemed to be noticing fewer (and remarked on it offhandedly). This past summer I saw no more than one or two.
Read the full article “Changes in the Maine Woods?” by Dana Wilde for Central Maine.com.
