The countdown continues, but the dragonfly season is not over yet. I will undoubtedly continue to spot dragonflies for the next few months, but already their numbers seem to be diminishing as summer prepares to give way to autumn. We have had a series of cooler days this week, but I’m quite confident that summer is not quite ready to give up its hold and next week the high temperatures are forecast to return to the 90s.
I was happy on Monday to spot a Swift Setwing dragonfly (Dythemis velox) at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, the only one that I managed to photograph during my visit. I did have another sighting of a Swift Setwing that I was unable to photograph, but I am not sure if it was the same individual or a different one.
In the past, I have seen a Swift Setwing as late as September, but there are no guarantees that they will continue to be around that long this year. The population of Swift Setwing dragonflies is pretty well-established at this location, but it is quite small.
Each year I try to document my dragonfly sightings as we start to approach the end of the season, so I will probably return to this location again in the upcoming weeks. There are a few late-season species, like the Russet-tipped Clubtail, that will start to reappear, so I will keep my eyes open for them as well.
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Mike Powell 
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