The State of Delaware

Dragonfly Project

TEACHER RESOURCES

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

SECONDARY SCHOOL

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Save the Date:

Delaware Dragonfly Naming Event

June 20th from 1 to 3 pm.

Location:

Delaware State University

Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center

2nd Floor Parlor

1200 N DuPont Hwy

Dover, Delaware 19901

All Essay and Art Contest Winners will be honored during this event.

Click the Image to See the Full Program ►

THE BLUE DASHER

Nominees for the Official Delaware State Dragonfly

Common Green Darner

The Common Green Darner is quite large and conspicious. It eats small flying insects and spends most of the day flying back and forth over water.

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Dragonhunter

The Dragonhunter is the largest dragonfly in Delaware. It feeds on large insects, such as butterflies, and lives on large rivers.

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Tiger Spiketail

The Tiger Spiketail is an extreme habitat specialist. It is only found in tiny streams and is one of Delaware’s rarest, most localized dragonfly.

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Calico Pennant

The Calico Pennant is one of Delware’s most beautiful small dragonfly. It is usually found perched low to the ground waiting for prey to fly by.

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Blue-Faced Meadowhawk

The Blue-Faced Meadowhawk is considered one of Delaware’s most beautiful dragonfly. It lives in vernal pools deep in the forest.

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Blue Dasher

The Blue Dasher is one of the most common and widespread dragonfly in North America. It is found at almost every body of water.

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Elementary School Resources

Secondary School Resources

Additional Resources

Videos

What Makes Dragonflies So Extraordinary

Tiger Spiketail at White Clay Creek

Mate Recognition and Mating Behavior

Species Spotlight: Green Darner

Written Content

The Insect Guide: Dragonflies in Delaware

Delmarva Dragonflies and Dasmselflies

Dragonflies and Damselflies of Delaware

Dragonfly Society of the Americas

What’s the difference?

Dragonflies and Damselflies are both colorful insects that are common in Delaware. They are closely related members of the same Insect Order (Odonata). They are both lay their eggs in water and their larvae hatch and grow up in water. Only the adults are terrestrial. They are both predators for other flying insects.

How do you tell them apart?

Dragonflies are larger and tend to be seen out in the open or flying around more than Damselflies. When Dragonflies perch, they hold their wings perpendicular to their bodies.

Damselflies are smaller, usually around an inch long and very slender, often looking like a flying toothpick. They usually fly low over the surface of the water or stay low in the vegetation. When Damselflies perch, they fold their wings over their backs.

So, the easiest way to tell them apart is how they hold their wings.

By the Numbers in Delaware

Number of Odonates

Number of Dragonflies

Number of Damselflies

Dragonfly_A-male-Calico-Pennant

Damselfly_A-male-Variable-Dancer

Dragonfly Families

Petaltails

Primitive dragonflies that were flying in the time of the dinosaurs. They live in woods and perch on tree trunks where their mottled gray color blends into the bark making them very hard to see.

Darners

Large colorful dragonflies patterned in blue and green. They are usually seen hunting on the wing over fields and ponds. Species of Darners are found from the tropics to above the Arctic Circle and they are common in many places.

Clubtails

Usually found perched on the ground or on low vegetation along streams and rivers. The enlarged tip to the abdomen in most species gives them their name.

Cruisers

Large black and yellow dragonflies which are usually seen flying low (cruising) up and down large rivers and streams, but they often do the same over roads near rivers.

Spiketails

Closely related to cruisers, these large black and yellow dragonflies are usually found on tiny streams in the forest. Females have a spike-like tip at the end of the abdomen that they use to make holes in the mud for their eggs.

Emeralds

Mostly medium to large, dark dragonflies named for their brilliant green eyes. They breed on small streams but are usually seen in flight high over open spaces like fields and forest clearings.

Skimmers

The largest dragonfly family contains most of our typical pond dragonflies. Many are very brightly colored with colored wings. They are usually seen perched along the edge of ponds and lakes but can be found almost anywhere there is clean water.

ART CONTEST WINNERS

Students created a 3D Dragonfly to help celebrate the State Dragonfly Project
Each dragonfly was required to be made from Recyclable Materials and submitted to students’ art teacher.

Congratulations to the Winners of the Dragonfly Art Contest!!

Click the Images to Enlarge

Elementary School Winners:

First Place Kent

Melaina Mendoza
Reilly Brown
Caesar Rodney

Third Place New Castle

Hillary Shen
North Star
Red Clay Cons.

Second Place Kent

Collin Holderman
Reilly Brown
Caesar Rodney

First Place Sussex

Addie Hager
Lord Baltimore
Indian River

Third Place Kent

Carson Holderman
Reilly Brown
Caesar Rodney

Second Place Sussex

Adalee Olajos
Lord Baltimore
Indian River

First Place New Castle

Madison Capra
Bunker Hill
Appoquinimink

Third Place Sussex

Violet Bennett
Lord Baltimore
Indian River

Second Place New Castle

Adeline Hill
Jones
Christina