When I noted in a recent posting called Transformation, that I had not yet witnessed the remarkable metamorphosis of a dragonfly, I never suspected that only a few day later I would somehow manage to observe such a transformation of a Common Sanddragon dragonfly (Progomphus obscurus) from start to finish at relatively close range.
Nymphs of this species of dragonfly crawl out of the water onto a sandy beach to begin the process and I knew of the bank of a stream where this had been taking place over the past week or so, having observed there newly emerged teneral dragonflies and the discarded exoskeletons known as exuviae. However, what were the chances that I would be able to be at the right location at precisely the right time? I figured the odds were about the same as winning the lottery.
Last Friday around noon I spotted several exuviae in the sand as I was walking along that section of the stream. I bent down, picked them up, and placed them in the palm of my hand in order to get a good look at them. Having spotted Unicorn Clubtails in this location along with Common Sanddragons, I wondered if these was a way to tell which species of dragonfly had emerged from a given exuvia. As I continued to walk, I suddenly became aware that something was crawling around in my hand—one of my presumed exuviae was in fact a live nymph.
I experienced an initial moment of shock, but realized pretty quickly that I needed to get the nymph back onto the sand. If I had been thinking a little more clearly, I might have chosen a spot that optimized my chances for capturing good images, but instead I selected a location where I could see another exuvia and gently placed the nymph there.
I placed my eye to the viewfinder of my camera and began to wait and to watch. Within a very short period of time I began to see signs of movement in the thorax area of the nymph, just behind the eyes, and before long the head of the dragonfly appeared as it began to pull its body out of the soon-to-be-discarded shell. It took about eight minutes for the body to be entirely free of the exoskeleton.
The dragonfly changed positions so that it could extend its abdomen and begin the process of extending its wings, which at this stage were merely nubs. Over the next twenty minutes or so, the wings and the abdomen grew larger and larger. My original shooting position was no longer optimal, so I ended up standing in the stream to get a view of what was happening. The water was about six to eight inches deep (15 to 20 cm) and my non-waterproof boots were quickly soaked. As I crouched to get as close as I could to the eye level of the dragonfly, I suddenly realized that the seat of my pants was getting wetter.
Twenty seven minutes after the process had started, the wings of the newly emerged dragonfly snapped open to the familiar position of dragonfly wings. At this moment they were very clear and obviously very fragile and I experienced a moment of concern for the vulnerable dragonfly when a slight wind kicked up. Fortunately, though, I had chosen a somewhat sheltered position and the dragonfly was safe. The wings continued to harden and six minutes later the dragonfly flew off to some nearby vegetation to begin its new life.
I took a lot of photos of the process of metamorphosis and it was hard to choose which ones to post. In the caption area of each of them,I have indicated the time at which the photo was taken. The transformation began at 12:19 and the dragonfly flew away at 12:52.
Fellow dragonfly enthusiast and photographer Walter Sanford witnessed the emergence of a Common Sanddragon at a nearby, but different location on 1 June and did a blog posting on it today. Be sure to check out his posting for some great photos and a detailed explanation of what is happening within the dragonfly’s body as it undergoes this dramatic metamorphosis.
12:19 indications of first movement
12:21 head starts to become visible
12:22 dragonfly starts to pull out of shell
12:22 body of dragonfly starts to be visible
12:23 body significantly out of shell
12:24 side view of dragonfly pulling body out of shell
12:25 struggling to get abdomen out of shell
12:27 body completely freed
12:27 straightening the abdomen
12:28 starting to extend wings
12:29 continuing to extend wings
12:31 wings extended
12:40 wings reach final length
12:48 wings fully opened
12:52 close-up of newly emerged dragonfly
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Stunning sequence of photographs! Must have been a great experience.
Thanks. It was amazing to watch the process unfold, particularly because I was observing it at close range.
Great series.
Thanks Victor. I usually post only a few photos, but this was a subject that definitely warranted a longer series.
That’s fascinating Mike – Great photos.
Thanks, Dan. This was one of those kinds of posts that I figured people would find to be somewhere between creepy and fascinating. People tend to have a romanticized view of the birth process, but I think my photos show that it can be ugly and stressful and amazing all at once.
Thank you so much for sharing this series of splendid photographs. Having never seen the full process in real life, it was thoroughly interesting seeing it documented with such precision in your blog post.
Thanks, Laura. This may turn out to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and it was so cool to witness the entire process. Getting photos was a real bonus.
This is a remarkable recording, Mike. As I slowly scrolled through it, I heard myself gasping. I have watched caterpillars and tadpoles, but have never seen an entire phase unfurl of any creature. So watching this dragonfly transform was truly incredible. Thank you so much.
Thanks, Jet. I had previously seen photos and videos of the process, but seeing it in person was almost overwhelmingly amazing. As someone who travels a lot, I know that you can appreciate what a difference it makes to experience something in person. I’m thrilled I was able to capture so many images and share them with others.
Fascinating! Great series, Mike.
Thanks, Camilla. The process was amazing to see and getting the shots was a nice bonus.
What a series Mike! Very informative and pretty amazing you were there to record the sequence.
Thanks, Chris. There is no question that luck played a huge role in having this opportunity. I am happy I was able to take advantage of the situation when it arose.
Just think, one minute this guy was living/breathing underwater and a half-hour later it was an air-breather capable of flying quite skillfully. A truly amazing transformation I’m glad we were fortunate to witness!
Incredible to observe and amazing that we both manage to get front row seats for a similar performance on different days at different locations. It’s hard to think of any other kind of similarly radical transformation that could take place in such a short period.of time.
Wow! Birth is so amazing and ugly and stressful. How marvelous to capture it all. I particularly like the folded up wings. Don’t we have planes that do that?
I love the way that you described the birth process, Sally. The adjectives you chose are so accurate as compared the more romanticized words that people often choose to use. I think there are some planes with wings that fold a little, but for me these wings are even more amazing, because they are initially rolled up and have to have fluid pumped into them to extend. Wow!
What a fantastic series. And doesn’t it look so fresh, and new? Most of the time, the insects I see look at least a little nicked up. This perfection is just amazing. I’m so glad you noticed it, and took the time to record the entire process.
Butterflies and dragonflies look so beat up later in the season–this newly emerged one looks so perfect. I’m amazed and thrilled that I got to watch the process.
That’s remarkable Mike, thank you.
It was definitely one of the coolest things in nature that I have ever witnessed and I was happy to be able to get so many shots.
Awesome! Excellent series, the only thing left would have been the Red Winged Blackbird swooping in for a quick lunch. 😉
Yikes. I have seen birds with dragonflies in their mouths, but have never seen one actually catch a dragonfly. However, dragonflies are extremely vulnerable when they emerge, so it could easily happen then.
[…] Since that time I have learned a lot more about the species, including the fact that they emerge on the sandy banks of streams. (Many other dragonfly nymphs attach themselves to vegetation growing out of the water and leave their discarded exoskeletons attached to the vegetation when they emerge.) Last year I even had the awesome experience of watching the emergence of a Common Sanddragon and documented it in series of images in a blog posting called Metamorphosis of a Dragonfly. […]
[…] a Common Sanddragon dragonfly and documented it in a series of 15 photos in a blog posting entitled Metamorphosis of a dragonfly. The images are pretty intense and utterly amazing—I encourage you to check them […]
Nice series Mike! It is a wonderful documentation visuallly of the process for others to see through your images!
Thanks, Reed. It might well have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and I am thrilled I was able to observe and photograph it. I remember as a child being utterly amazed at some footage I saw of the metamorphosis of a Monarch butterfly and the transformation of a dragonfly is equally incredible.
[…] to see that amazing metamorphosis documented in a series of photos, check out this blog posting, Metamorphosis of a dragonfly, from two years […]
[…] total transformation, you may want to check out a posting I did a few years ago called Metamorphosis of a dragonfly that documents in photos and in words the step-by-step metamorphosis of a Common Sanddragon […]
[…] itself from a water-dwelling nymph to an aerial acrobat, check out my blog posting called Metamorphosis of a dragonfly that documents the entire process in a series of […]
[…] a Common Sanddragon dragonfly and documented the thirty-minute process in a blog posting entitled Metamorphosis of a dragonfly. Be sure to check out that posting to see photos of the different stages of the amazing […]
[…] air and can fly. Six years ago I was able to document this entire process in a posting called Metamorphosis of a dragonfly, which you may want to check […]
What a great opportunity that you made the most of, Mike. I’ve never seen the transformation of any metamorphosing insect so am green with envy even at this much later date.
It was a long time ago, Steve and I have not seen the entire process again. I have on a couple of occasions seen the final stages, but lightning would have to strike twice for me to see it again. 🙂