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21-MAY-2011 Gillian Mastromatteo

Dragonfly exuvia

Cedar Grove Nature Trail (Marlborough Forest)

When I first saw this exuvia it was hanging upside-down in the shadows beneath a leaf just above the ground, and all I could see were two large eyes peering out with several legs bristling around the head.
It quite startled me, and I thought it was alive at first, perhaps a type of large spider. Being curious, I dropped my insect net over the leaf and waited for the creature to make a move. It didn't. That's when I suspected it was an inanimate object, and picked it up. It turns out it is a dragonfly exuvia (plural: exuviae), the skin left behind when it transforms from aquatic larva to adult dragonfly.

Dragonflies may spend anywhere from a few months to a few years, depending on the species, in the larval stage. Known as "nymphs" or "naiads", dragonfly larvae are fully aquatic, and can not only swim like fish, but also breathe through gills. Once they mature, they crawl out of the water, attach themselves to a rock or vegetation, then burst out of the larval "shell", leaving it behind much like a snakes leaves behind its skin when it sheds.

This is the first exuvia I have found to date, and believe it is from a member of the emerald family.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1
1/640s f/4.0 at 5.0mm iso125 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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