The migration has begun!  But first, swarms occurred in the following areas over the past week:

USA:

Compton, CA
Lakewood, CA
Palmdale, CA
Fort Collins, CO
La Junta, CO
Lynn Haven, FL
Milton, FL
North Port, FL
Panama City Beach, FL
Panhandle Seaside, FL
St. Petersburg, FL
Siesta Key, FL
Mountain Home, ID
Berwyn, IL
Chicago, IL (11 reports)
Elk Grove Village, IL
Lawrence, IL
McConnell, IL
Orangeville, IL
Village of Lakewood, IL
Liberty Township, IN
Le Mars, IA
Peosta, IA
Weat Branch, IA
Kennebunkport, ME
Kittery Point, ME
York, ME
Dighton, MA
Holyoke, MA
Marblehead, MA
Troy, MI
Duluth, MN
Saint Paul, MN
Colon, MS
Cedarville, OH
Douglas, OK
Orangeville, PA
Charlestown, RI
Athens, TX
Crowley, TX
Galveston, TX
Gelveston Island, TX
Plano, TX
Portland, TX
Seattle, WA
Belleville, WI
Beloit, WI
Darlington, WI
Footville, WI
Granton, WI
Janesville, WI (3 reports)
New Auburn, WI
Sharon, WI (2 reports)
Spring Valley, WI
West Bend, WI
Whitewater, WI

England:

Isle of Sheppey, Kent

There was a sharp increase in the number of migratory swarms reported this week, which suggests that the migration is just starting up.  However, most of the reports were from the Great Lakes area, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, so it looks like the northeastern US might have to wait a little longer for their migration to begin.  The Midwestern migrants will travel down either the Illinois River or the Wabash and Ohio Rivers to the Mississippi, and then down the big river from there.  Considering Hurricane Isaac recently made landfall along their route, it will be interesting to see what happens when the migrants reach the New Orleans area and continue south toward the Gulf coast.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they stopped there to feed for several days before moving on.

There is also a separate migration happening in Texas.  Nearly every report from Texas this week described a migratory swarm, so there’s something interesting happening.  Most reporters mentioned high winds and rain that resulted from Isaac, so the migratory swarms from Texas could be similar to the migrating dragonflies that appeared in Florida in advance of the hurricane.   I wonder if these dragonflies will eventually fly south or disperse within Texas…

Many of the static swarms reported this week were in the west.  It’s unusual to have reports in Colorado, California, Idaho, and Washington all in one week, but I think it’s exciting.  Western swarms are far less common than eastern swarms, so it’s always nice to see activity west of the Rockies.

I hope that I will be able to post a video of a migratory swarm in North Carolina in the next couple of weeks!  The migration down the coast should be starting soon, and I fully intend to dash out to the coast to see it for the first time this year if at all possible.  I can’t wait!

Until next week, keep sending in those swarm reports!  We’re coming up on the most active part of the year, and right on time in spite of the early start of the swarming season this summer.

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Have you seen a dragonfly swarm? I am tracking swarms so I can learn more about this interesting behavior.  If you see one, I’d love to hear from you!  Please visit my Report a Dragonfly Swarm page to fill out the official report form.  It only takes a few minutes! Thanks!

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