Rare Dragonflies Being Released In Illinois
There were a number of decades where it was thought that the Hine’s emerald dragonfly was a thing of the past, an extinct relic never to be seen again. But that turned out to be untrue, and when one was found again it went from an extinct dragonfly to an endangered dragonfly. Extensive work has been done in laboratories to help preserve the endangered dragonflies and allow them to create more. It seems that those efforts are working – a number of these endangered dragonflies that have been raised in an American lab for several years are going to be released to an Illinois forest preserve. The scientists believe that these dragonflies will fit well with the tiny population that already exists there.
Hine’s Emerald Dragonflies Have Been Endangered Since 1995
20 of these dragonflies could end up being released, and three already have been. That’s no small number; it’s believed that at most, 320 of these endangered dragonflies reside in Illinois. But for an extended period of time in the mid 1900s, it was believed that none of them lived anywhere. The idea that these dragonflies were extinct was eradicated in 1988, when an adult specimen was found and collected in the Des Plaines River Valley in Illinois. In 1995, it officially became an endangered dragonfly, but it can now be found not only in Illinois, but in Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
Midwestern Researchers Have Been Working To Preserve the Dragonflies
Nearly everything about this story is Midwestern. After being raised in a lab in the University of South Dakota by using eggs from a dragonfly that was found in Wisconsin, the adult endangered dragonflies are now being released to Illinois. The reason for using a dragonfly from southwest Wisconsin is that researchers noticed that it had the same diverse genetic composition as the endangered dragonflies that have been found in Illinois. The reason for this preservation effort, they say, does not stop simply at the evolutionary role that these endangered dragonflies play in nature. Rather, this is predominately a gesture simply to do their part to help generally preserve helpless creatures because, in some way, it’s the right thing to do. They feel a sense of obligation.
