I am the Great Black Dragon - Story of a Dragonfly on the pond

You heard me. I am THE great Black Dragon. I am known by this name. The buzz on my pond is that I am dreaded by those delicious sleazy vampire-like night flying creatures seeking the blood of their victims. So be it. They are my prey. In case you doubt my position in this world, all you need to do is look at me. So here I am!

My story today is my entire life. I will see about 60 nights and days and then be gone. Glorious is the day and quiet is the night. My time is the day. I will seek out all the mosquitoes I can hold in my belly, then love, work and play in the sunlight and in the rain. I will quickly move among the bulrushes, flowers, and grass around the pond.

I must tell you about the spot where I met Mrs Black Dragon, my love. On MY day in the sun, my true love came to me. I happened to be at one of my favorite hangouts, the Golden Rod. The afternoon light glistened off of the rod as I was fluttering around.



Then she came, and she too was fluttering and of course with a little flattering as well. I mean, who could see me and not issue those words of flattery! Well, here is the missus doing her business amidst the leaves.




We hooked up and became the proud parents of little black hunger mucks who think they own the pond. At first they were eggs on the plant leaves. Then they came out of their shells and became almost like us. For several human months, our little ones will be unable to fly. Humans call us "larvae" when we are children. During this stage of our lives, we are vulnerable to enemies like fish and birds, but some day we do grow up and flit about like me. Then one of the children will say "I am the great Black Dragon"! As teenagers, they have now met their cousins on the other side of the pond and realize how big this world must be. These cousins thought they were something to behold, until of course they saw ME! Look! These cousins are blue, of all colors!



Then I brought their striped distant cousins to meet the children. The little ones learned a lot from these distant relatives. Who needs to be big to be fast? They learned again that their father is the best of the best. I challenged Mr silver to a race. I just could not keep him on the track however. He does not know how to fly from one place to another in a straight line. But after all, I AM the great Black Dragon!


It is tough to be humble when you are perfect in every way. We have been on this planet for more than 300 million years. Think about that. There are a few other things you should know about us:

1. My children feast on those vampire-like bugs as well. They chow down on Mosquitoes like you have never seen! You would do well having some in your yard.

2. You may not know it, but you need me also in your backyard. I bet you get buzzed all the time and it's usually not by me. Give me a pond with plant life and I will go to work for you to get rid of the buzz of your life.

3. You people always call all of us "dragon flies" but do you know that i am actually a Damselfly? Remember the striped dragonfly above? Well, he is a real dragonfly, but I am the king!

4. We are official in the animal kingdom. We are insects, but a special kind with a special function in the ecology about us. Please do not poison us. We do not sting, nor do we hurt you humans in any way.

References:
1. A Beginner's Guide to Dragon Flies

Frogs in The Woodlands Texas area

Croak… croak …croak….

We have an excellent Herpetology resource just a few miles down the road near the airport in Jesse Jones Park – Mike Howlett. Last night at McCullough school, he presented a “how to” identify local frogs and toads. Not only was the material excellent, but also his humor was super! Have you ever wondered what was making those noises outside (and sometimes inside)? He offered a few memory tips to identify these amphibians by their call and believe me; seniors need help in this area. Amphibians are endangered by our environmental non-consciousness just as birds, insects and animals. Ant poison is often over applied resulting in more than the inconvenience of these creatures. Construction in sandy soil areas has endangered two frogs and they are on the national endangered list. Their living environment has been more than encroached. It has been mostly removed. Introduction of species from other locations and competing amphibians for food sources, as well as lawn and garden poisons and fertilizer also affect the environment of these creatures.

Common toads and frogs in our area include the small Grey Frog, Gulf Coast Toad, Houston Toad, Cricket Frog, Spring Peeper tree frog, Western Chorus Frog, Rio Grand Chirping Frog (not native but here in abundance), Grey Tree Frog, Coats Grey Tree Frog, Green Tree Frog, Squirrel Tree Frog, Bull Frog, Bronze Frog, Southern Leopard Frog, Narrow Mouth Frog, and Herder Spade Foot Frog. Each one has a unique call. One can see the eggs on top of the water after a big rain. Toads’ eggs are laid in a double row and frogs’ eggs are laid in a glob.

Each of these creatures makes a unique sound. That is the way they manage to call their own species for social gatherings and mating. We humans are fortunate to be able to discern those calls, well enough to be able to go out, sit down and identify all the frogs in a given area and even be able to estimate the populations by their calls. Texas Parks and Wildlife sponsors a catalog process, which monitors area ponds and forest areas for their amphibian populations. One can adopt a pond for monitoring and cataloging by attending a class and getting the materials, including a CD of sounds for identifying these creatures.

OK, now let’s talk food chain! What creature is at the top of the food chain on some ponds and will eat a Crawfish? It is the Bull Frog! He will eat about anything that moves that is within reach of that sticky tongue. Those pinchers of a crawfish do not faze him at all. What is a threat to small birds that comes to take a drink on the pond? Again … the Bull Frog. Picture a frog with a mouth full of feathers. What looks like a snake but has legs? A Skink. What are those lizards called that change colors? Nope, not a chameleon, but an Anole! What are those translucent lizard-like creatures on the windows and sometimes get into the house at night? Mediterranean Geckoes. They are not native here but they are thriving here.

Later this Spring, I will go out in rain to listen to these creatures and hopefully I can find the time to get certified in frog monitoring on one of our Woodlands ponds. I may take one of my grandchildren with me. The children attending this lecture were obviously very interested and came to look at the living frogs in the bottles that Mike brought with him.

I highly recommend attending this Woodlands Association series of lectures on nature. The remaining lectures this Spring are “The Quiet Invasion” (invasive plants on March 26th and “Beyond Butterflies” on April 17th (should also be an interesting one for children).

Now let's change that croak to Peep ... peep ....peep

tweetily.tweetily.tweetily.tweetily.tweetily.tweetily..tweetily.tweetily.tweetily

Loose banjo string sound...........Loose banjo string sound (bwang?)

myyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.........myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

I went away with a much different appreciation for an important resident of our forest.

Resources:
1. Any book store: look for Amphibian field guides in the Texas book section.
2. Jesse Jones Park: http://www.hcp4.net/jones/pw/amreptiles.htm
3. Texas Parks and Wildlife kids stuff: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/kids/
4. Texas Parks and Wildlife Texas Amphibians Watch: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_br_w7000_0492.pdf