[image source: http://www.ianadamsphotography.com/store/page144.html]
[image souce: http://www.ridgesanctuary.org/hines.htm]
A:Female hine's emerald B:Male hine's emerald
The hine's emerald dragonfly is the only dragonfly that is on the federally endangered species list. It is unique to Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin. There is a sanctuary for them in Door County, Wisconsin known as the Ridges Sanctuary. This is where the majority of them live.
These dragonflies belong to the order Odonata, kingdom Animalia, and class Insecta. They are very rare dragonflies. They have emerald green eyes and a dark brown and metallic green thorax. Their wings have an amber tinting at the base of the hind wing and are transparent. Their wingspan is between 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 inches and they tend to darken as they get older. Male and female hine's emerald dragonflies have different appendages that are used during mating. There are examples in the pictures above.
Adult hine's emerald dragonflies are terrestrial. The larva live in cool shallow, slow moving waters. They are also found in marshes and sedge meadows. The adults have a typical life span of 5 to 6 weeks.
Adult females lay their eggs in the shallow water by dipping their abdomen into the water. The larvae then come out of the water after they mature and their skin splits on the back of their head and thorax and an adult dragonfly emerges.
The adult hine's emerald dragonflies eat other insects while the larva feed on small aquatic invertebrates, small fish, and amphibian larva. Some of the insects that the adults feed on include mosquitoes, deerflies, and flying ants.
An interesting fact about dragonflies is that they can see approximately 360 degrees around. They have excellent sight. This helps them to see incoming predators and be able to protect themselves.
They were put on the endangered species list in January 1995.
Some of the reasons for them dying off is urbanization. Also contamination of the water that they lay their eggs in. There is destruction of their habitat due to commercial and residential development. They also have the tendency to suffer from vehicle-related mortality.
Global warming directly affects the hine's emerald dragonfly by altering the temperatures of the water. When the temperature is altered it causes problems with the hydrology of the larval habitat. The higher temperatures can also cause the water that is needed to dry up and they are no longer able to lay their eggs. Some of its properties that may be useful for a bioprospector would be the dragonfly's eyesight. They could learn from it and may find how to improve human eyesight.
Sources:
http://www.ianadamsphotography.com/store/page144.html
http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/SpeciesReport.do?spcode=I06P
http://www.museum.state.il.us/research/entomology/hines/mainpage.html
http://www.museum.state.il.us/research/entomology/hedplan.pdf
http://www.hinesdragonfly.org/
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