Many people are familiar with Monarch Butterfly migration, but they aren’t the only insects that migrate. Another group with long distance migrants is the dragonflies.
Several species of dragonfly found in Illinois are known to migrate. The most familiar is the Green Darner (Anax junius) which complete their migratory journey over multiple generations. They are typically the first dragonflies seen here in the spring, beginning to arrive in March. These adults began life as eggs laid in wetlands as far away as the Gulf Coast, Mexico, and Central America.
Adults will lay their eggs here in Illinois between March and July and then die.
Some naiad (aquatic juvenile forms) may grow quickly and emerge as adults that fall. Others may overwinter and emerge the following spring.
Dragonflies that emerge from northern wetlands will fly south, to mate, lay eggs, and die.
Adults that overwintered as naiads in the north emerge between May and July and migrate south. They arrive at their southern destination beginning in May to start the next generation. This generation will emerge in the fall and stay in the south to reproduce. Their offspring will become the next adults to migrate north the following spring.
Adults that emerge in the north in September and October will also migrate south and lay their eggs.
Learn more about this fascinating migration in Hallworth, M.T., P.P. Marra, K.P. McFarland, S. Zahendra, and C.E. Studds. 2018. Tracking dragons: stable isotopes reveal the annual cycle of a long-distance migratory insect. Biology Letters 14(12) https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0741
