At the end of last summer, I had a few, relatively small dragonflies hanging around my front gate and mail box. I would see them one afternoon and then not for days. I had a hard time getting any photos of them because they seemed a bit shy and I never seemed to have my camera when I saw them. I was finally able to get some images and identify them as blue dashers (Pachydiplax longipennis), which are very common dragonflies in the United States and Canada. As with most dragonflies, they are most likely to be found around water. But males especially can be very territorial and aggressive, so less dominant males sometimes have to move away from the water. All I saw last year were males, so I wasn’t sure if they had been attracted by my little ponds or had been driven away from the wetter areas.

Well, this year, I think the question has been answered. This year I have blue dashers all over the place. Both males and females are everywhere. This year they are also around much earlier than last, too. So I think it’s pretty obvious that they came for the ponds. I’m quite happy with that, and I look forward to having them around for the rest of the summer! They eat a lot of pest species like flies, gnats, and mosquitos, so not only are they beautiful to look at and fun to watch, but they are also beneficial. You just can’t beat having blue dashers around!