Introduction to Dragonflies!
FENCE, Tryon, NC
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Reservations and prepayment are required on all Ventures.
Your place on this Venture will be reserved when the full amount has been received. Please make your check payable to VENTURES, Inc. and send it to this address or call the office with your VISA or MasterCard #.
This Venture is limited to 12 participants.
A day down at the Wildlife Pond at the Foothills Equestrian Nature Center in Tryon, NC. It could be warm and sunny (we hope), so dress accordingly. There is a nearby shelter from the sun. Bring notebook and close focusing binoculars.
Birdwatchers in recent years have begun to take notice of other flying animals, including dragonflies and damselflies. The Odonates, as dragon and damselflies are collectively known, are diverse and fascinating. Polk County has 65 documented species of odonates. Some are as colorful and unmistakable as any warbler; others can be just as challenging to identify as any sandpiper or flycatcher. Massive darners patrol over fields like airplanes, consuming mosquitoes by the dozen, while tiny bluets and forktails lurk in long grass plucking aphids. And their larvae stalk under the surface of wetlands and waterways terrorizing fish, tadpoles, and anything else that swims or crawls underwater, including each other. The adaptations of the larvae, and the mating behavior of adult odonates, sound more like science fiction than natural history until you see them with your own eyes.
We will take time looking at the different species of dragonflies, as well as studying the life cycle of these fascinating insects. Some good books are Dragonflies of Georgia by Giff Beaton ($24.95) and Damselflies of Northeast by Ed Lam ($20) and Stokes’ Beginning Guide to Dragonflies ($9.99). The wonderful Pentax Papilio Binoculars focus down to 18” and are perfect for dragonfly and butterfly watching. All are available at our Asheville Wild Birds Unlimited Store and all books have a 10% discount to Ventures Participants.
$45 per person per day.
Price includes: A delicious picnic lunch will be provided.
Directions & Time of Departure
For those of us coming down I-26 from Asheville/Hendersonville, we will meet and carpool from in front of the Cracker Barrel in Hendersonville, NC at 9AM. This is now Exit 53 off I-26 (used to be Exit 22). There are all of the modern conveniences here in this complex! Others can meet directly at FENCE in Tryon, NC at 8:30 AM.
Simon Thompson and others