Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.
TRANSCRIPT
From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is
Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 16, 2012.
This week, we feature a series of mysterious names. Have a
listen for about 30 seconds, and see if you can guess what group of flying
animals has species with the names being called out by these recent campers
along the New River. And here’s a hint:
these creatures don’t breathe fire, but some do have spikes on their tail.
SOUND.
If you guessed dragonflies,
you’re right! Spiketails, cruisers, darners,
and other descriptive and sometimes fearsome names for dragonflies derive not
only from these insects’ real appearance and behaviors, but also from
historical superstitions or myths about supposed
behaviors—such as the idea that darners could sew up the ears of misbehaving
children. No matter what they’re called,
all dragonflies—along with closely-related damselflies—spend
the first part of their life cycle as aquatic larvae inhabiting various still
or slow-moving freshwater habitats, particularly wetlands, ponds, and the edges
of streams and rivers. Both the larvae
and adults eat large numbers of a variety of prey, including mosquitoes and
other biting flies. The over 400 North
American species of dragonflies and damselflies are as diverse, colorful, and
fascinating as their names—and that’s
no myth.
For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia
water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org,
or call us at (540) 231-5463. From the
Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo,
thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
SHOW NOTES
Photos—The photo
below of a Halloween Pennant dragonfly was taken from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov (as of 7/16/12).
Acknowledgments: Thanks to several friends of Virginia Water Radio for recording dragonfly
names on July 14, 2012.
Sources: Information
on dragonflies was taken from Stokes Beginner’s
Guide to Dragonflies, by Blair Nikula and Jackie Sones with Donald Stokes
and Lillian Stokes (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2002, 160 pp.); and A
Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America, by J. Reese Voshell
(Blacksburg, Va: McDonald and Woodward, 2002, 442 pp.). A U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) list of the
Odonata of Virginia (the insect order containing dragonflies and damselflies),
with distribution maps and photographs of some species, is available online at http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/insects/dfly/va/toc.htm
(as of 7/16/12). A quick guide to common Virginia dragonflies and damselflies
is provided online by the Prince William Conservation Alliance, at http://www.pwconserve.org/wildlife/insects/dragonflies/index.htm
(as of 7/16/12).
Recent Virginia Water
News
For
news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper,
available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.
Water Meetings and
Other Events
For
events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related
Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/.
The site includes a list of Virginia
government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.
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