Dragonflies before the Storm

[buffalo boy]

Did anyone witness millions of Dragonflies swarming before the big storm on Wednesday... it was very cool yet a little ominous, especially heralding the dust storm which blew our camp down. It was a interesting phenomena, I think?... would anyone have an explanation or some insight to this wonder of nature? or just a cool story... cheers Buffalo Boy

[madmatt]

millions of Dragonflies

I saw that too. I thought it was awesome! (But probably more like a few hundred). Dragonflies stay near water, so they were probably blown in from some creek, hot springs, lake etc. nearby. You see plently of creek and marsh around Empire on the way to the playa.

Seems like every year, Black Rock City has one kind of out-of-place insect visitor. Last year, it was preying mantises.

[Kinetic IV]

I saw the dragonflies too and at first I thought I was seeing things. And I couldn't find my camera as I was about to move from one camp to another as the storm rolled in. That was one of the last things I expected to see out there.

[dragonfly Jafe]

Darn! I missed'em. I always take Dragonfly sightings as a good omen....but that's just me.

I was in camp at 8:28 and Esplanade, and had a front row seat for most of the blow. Still, almost lost my structure in the 2nd round because too many other tarps were attached to mine....

[Barbie]

I didn't see the drangon flys I was so busy trying to peddale my butt back to camp before the storm hit...lucky I went home to camp to help hold down one of our stuctures..I did however find a black widow spider in my tent---and I saw 2 big ravens this year---one the first day and then one on Sunday morning before I went to Temple to say goodbye to one of our camp mates we lost this year I love drangonflys

[Isobel]

ya, I saw the dragonflies whirling about while at a friend's camp on Last Chance and 6:35. It was our first morning at our first Burning Man and we took the sighting as a good omen.

Then there was the huge dust storm that I foolishly thought I could outbike to 8:15 and Guess, hehe. Wound up having to take shelter in a portapotty.

[pinemom]

yup we had them dragon fly's in our shade structure..big ones little ones...and we had a preying mantis at the bar...

well, we had 2 kinds of preying mantis' at the bar...one organic the other elwired and rather tall...

[Ugly Dougly]

I think that the eggs remain dormant until the rains come.

[buffalo boy]

Wow, so cool to hear all the insect stories, we too had praying manti in camp along with the odd dragonfly... until the day of the storm... I witnessed thousands, at first I thought there were only a few flying in and around camp, then I went out and saw hundreds in the air above me, then as I looked further skyward, that is when I figure I saw thousands, they were swarming all over, it was so cool.. yet it only lasted a short time as the storm took over... then nothing, they were gone... I did see a few as the week carried on yet nothing like wednesday... I was born in the year of the Dragon and found it quite profound... I'm going to see what the symbolic or totem meaning of Daragon flies are and post... cheers BB

[diane o'thirst]

We have bazillions of them here in Oregon. All colours, different sizes. I brought a cage out with me to the Playa this year because I wanted to catch a mantis and bring it home for a pet.

[Ron]

Way cool. I saw the odd dragon fly or two, but missed the swarm. Life on the playa is just about always cool to see....

Ron

[Mozy bonz]

...