Guide

Look closerInsects

Empty dragonfly skins on pond-edge stems

June to July

A dragonfly spends its young life underwater, and when it is ready it crawls out onto a plant stem, usually before dawn, and several hours later flies off as an adult. It leaves its empty nymph skin hooked to the stem, and from a canoe or kayak you can drift right along the stems where they hang.

Why this time of year

In a study at one Massachusetts pond, shed skins were collected from late May to mid-July, and emergence peaked in early July; different species came out at different times. A Rhode Island study found the skins disappear quickly over the first few weeks, then more slowly.

How to notice it

  1. Paddle slowly along the edge of a pond where reeds, cattails, or other plants stand up out of the water, and look on the stems above the water for small brown shells shaped like a bug.
  2. Drift close and look without picking: the shell is the nymph's whole outer skin, legs and all, still gripping the stem, but empty.
  3. Go early on a calm morning. The National Park Service says emergence generally happens before dawn and the new adult stays for several hours before flying, so you may find one resting beside its skin.
  4. Count the shells on one patch of stems. Each one is a dragonfly that grew up in this pond.

Try this with kids: How many empty dragonfly shells can you count on the stems from the boat, without touching any?

Word to know: An “exuvia” is the empty skin an insect leaves behind when it molts.

Safety

  • Massachusetts regulation 323 CMR 2.07(14): any person under 12 years of age, aboard and above deck on any vessel underway, shall wear at all times a Coast Guard approved personal flotation device.

Sources

  • nps.govNational Park Service, Cape Cod National Seashore article (last updated July 28, 2025), read 2026-11-10: 'Emergence generally occurs early in the morning before dawn to avoid predation. The nymph crawls from the water onto adjacent vegetation, logs'; 'After several hours the newly emerged adult flies away leaving behind the nymphal skin or exuviae'; active 'throughout the summer and into early fall'.
  • vc.bridgew.eduBridgewater State University Undergraduate Review (Haslam, 2004), abstract read 2026-11-10: 'Chronological Patterns of Emergence of Dragonflies in Carver Pond, Bridgewater, MA'; exuviae collected May 26 to July 18, 2003; 'Peak emergence occurred during July 7-11'; 'Different patterns of emergence were found for different species.'
  • usgs.govUSGS publication record (Aliberti Lubertazzi and Ginsberg, Northeastern Naturalist 2009; Rhode Island wetlands), read 2026-11-10: exuviae 'disappearing rapidly during the first few weeks, and more slowly thereafter'; 'no significant difference in exuvial retention on emergent vegetation vs. rock substrate.'
  • law.cornell.edu323 CMR 2.07(14), read 2026-11-10: 'Any person under 12 years of age, aboard and above deck on any vessel underway on the waters of the Commonwealth shall wear at all times a Coast Guard approved personal flotation device'.

Checked against these sources on November 10, 2026.

In the guide for June, July

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