Recent, severe thunderstorms have trimmed a number of our trees, not exactly in the manner that I would have preferred. Nevertheless, we cleared the limbs from our property and I hauled them to our local recycling center, where "yard waste" is converted to mulch. Needless to say, the storms have contributed a great deal of material to that giant brush pile and, combined with the ongoing heat and humidity, that massive heap of rotting plantlife has become an insect factory.
While those prolific creatures were too small to see from the base of the brush pile, their presence was reflected by a huge swarm of dragonflies that patrolled the summit of this man-made ridge. These aerial hunters feast on all varieties of insect life, catching their prey in mid air or snatching victims from the surface of the pile; no need to scout the nearby fields and wetlands when humans have provided such a concentrated source of prey.
Having evolved in the vast swamplands of the Carboniferous Period, some 300 million years ago, dragonflies have adapted to a wide diversity of habitats, though nearby lakes and ponds are essential for reproduction. Indeed, the backyard brushpile is often a good place to observe these hunters at close range; they and their dainty cousins, the damselflies, often perch on the dead branches, awaiting the arrival of unwary flies and beetles.
