MINIATURE STREAMSIDE BEAUTIES

      Late in June, while scanning a shoreline of a sluggish creek with binoculars for wildlife in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I saw beautiful bouquets of water forget-me-nots, and several attractive common bluet damselflies.  Those flowers and insects were studies in miniature beauties.  

     The streambank was grown up with tall reed-canary grass right to the waterline, offering a green backdrop for the blooms and damselflies.  The forget-me-not bouquets of blooms were nestled charmingly, and peeked out coyly, from among the high grasses that swayed in the wind.  Meanwhile, the small, slender damselflies flew back and forth low over the waterway after mates, or flying insect food.  And some of the damselflies perched on soaked mats of algae in the water's surface, or blades of grass on the shore, where they can watch for food, mates, and rivals in the case of the males.       

     Forget-me-not plants flourish in moist to wet soil, on sunny or partly-shaded streambanks.  Each of their tiny, appealing flowers has five, sky-blue petals, each from a pink bud, and a lovely, yellow center, which makes an attractive color combination.  

     The perennial forget-me-nots are originally from Eurasia, and bloom through much of each summer in the United States.  Small insects pollinate their many pretty and miniscule blooms.    

     Male bluet damselflies are a lovely sky-blue, with black bands around their abdomens.  Females, however, are light gray, with clear wings, all of which camouflage them.  Both genders resemble one-inch threads zipping back and forth low over slow water.   

     A few pairs of damselflies were attached to each other in flight, as the female of each pair, while still attached to her mate and in flight, repeatedly dipped the tip of her abdomen in shallow water to spawn eggs, one at a time.  The resulting damselfly larvae are aquatic, have three, tail-like gills out the rear of their abdomens and consume tiny, aquatic invertebrates for about a year.  Then they molt out of their last skin, climb out of the water and fly to a nearby perch to watch for flying insects to eat, rivals,mates and dangers to themselves.  They are busy!

     These damselflies, and many other kinds of insects, change from wingless young to winged adults to be able to fly to cover distances to find mates for reproduction.  Obviously, the youngsters can't travel far, but they are good at taking in nourishment.

     I was happy to enjoy the bouquets of forget-me-nots and bluet damselflies along the shoes of a sluggish creek.  Such sightings outdoors certainly lifts my spirits, and those of other people.