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Article: Attracting Aerial Acrobats to Your Yard.(attracting dragonflies)
- Article from:
- National Wildlife
- Article date:
- April 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 National Wildlife Federation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WHEN HER KIDS WENT OFF TO COLLEGE, Kathy Biggs got rid of her backyard swimming pool. But her Sebastopol, California, yard still buzzes with activity on warm summer afternoons, because Kathy replaced the pool with a dragonfly pond. Now, instead of kids cannonballing off the deck, she watches cardinal meadowhawks diving after mates and emerald spreadwings basking in the sun.
Dragonflies and damselflies belong to the insect order Odonata, and most members of this group rely on water throughout their life cycle. The juveniles, or nymphs, live underwater for months and sometimes years before emerging as adults; the adults tend to hunt for insects over water and lay ...