Dragonhunting with Aiden's class

This week we took the Windy Hill Summer Program kindergarten class out to do some dragonhunting.  Aiden was so excited to be our main helper and show his class how to net dragonflies, hold them, identify them, and let them go.  We gathered everyone on some picnic blankets when we arrived at Low Plain to go over some of the basics about dragonflies (what they are, what they eat, their life stages, etc.) and when we got to the part where Andy demonstrated how to catch one, we called Aiden up to show the class how easy it is to let a dragonfly go.  "You don't have to worry, they're perfectly harmless, and they don't bite" ...that's what I was saying as I placed the dragonfly, a large Slaty Skimmer, on Aiden's outstretched finger to release it.  And then....Aiden promptly jumped up and down waving his finger screaming, "Ow! Ow!  It BIT me!!"... What the?!?

Aiden has let go, oh I don't know, probably 200 dragonflies in the past 4 years, and NOT ONE has ever bitten him.  Until this one.  Of course... murphy's law!  The truth is that dragonflies CAN bite...they just almost never do, preferring to fly right away when given the chance instead of waste any energy on retaliation for their capture.  All the kids in his class were of course totally terrified for a good while after Aiden's "demonstration," and every time anyone caught a dragonfly, the first question asked was "Will he bite me?!?"  Still, the kids had a very good time and we managed to catch some really cool dragonflies to show them.  Some kids even got brave enough to release one or two after our rough start with the Slaty Skimmer.  The highlight of the day was our netting of a Dragonhunter, the largest dragonfly in NH, a clubtail that Andy and I have never caught before.  So it was an excellent day for everyone, even Aiden, who got over his bitten finger in about 10 seconds once the nets started flying in earnest.

The Dragonhunter! (so named b/c it eats other smaller dragonflies)