Dragonflies―Find - Identify - Raise Your Own

An illustrated guide to observing, catching and releasing dragonflies.

Dragonflies are as fascinating as they are beautiful. In this book readers will learn how to observe them in the wild and have them hover as close as their nose! Dragonflies and their close relatives, damselflies, have been around longer than dinosaurs and can be found on all continents except Antarctica. One dragonfly species makes the longest migration of any insect in the world. Dragonflies can be found in wetlands, forests, fields and even backyards. This illustrated guide to dragonflies and damselflies is packed with all the facts about what they are, what they eat, and what eats them. Their life cycle is explored, beginning from eggs that hatch into wingless nymphs that live underwater and breathe through gills.

With the help of this detailed guide featuring close-up photographs, readers will learn tips and tricks for how to properly catch, hold and let a dragonfly go. An identification section allows the reader to quickly and easily identify the most popular species and illustrates how each is unique, from darners to clubtails, spiketails to cruisers, and emeralds to skimmers.

Chris G. Earley is the interpretive biologist at the University of Guelph's Arboretum and author of Hawks and Owls, Sparrows and Finches and Warblers, all specific to the Great Lakes and Eastern North America regions.