Local naturalist summarizes two years of Missoula dragonfly, damselfly surveys; drought shrinks ponds at Milltown

Suzanne Hendrick, a retired Iowa State University professor and master naturalist, told a Missoula Bugs and Brews audience that her two years of surveys at Milltown State Park, McLeay Flat and several other wetlands show Milltown generally supports higher numbers and greater species diversity, but that drought this year has left some ponds largely dry.

"I think that dragonflies and damselflies are good indicators of what's going on," Hendrick said, explaining that the insects spend most of their lives in aquatic nymph form and therefore reflect water quality and wetland condition.

Hendrick described methods and sites, and gave species highlights. She said she visits her main sites roughly weekly from May through October, photographs insects with a Nikon COOLPIX B500 and submits observations to iNaturalist and the Montana Field Guide, where knowledgeable users verify records. Hendrick said she plans to add a backlog of verified observations to Odonata Central, a national taxonomic database, this winter.

Her summary of findings emphasized three local patterns: Milltown Ponds generally produced richer…