Somatochlora hineana (Hines Emerald Dragonfly)

Public Domain

The Hines Emerald Dragonfly is a species that was originally found and described in Ohio, but was thought to have gone extinct. It was soon rediscovered in small patches in Illinois, but was put on the U.S. List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants on January 26, 1995 (Hines Emerald Dragonfly, 2015). That said, it is illegal to collect, threaten or injure this species without a permit from the US Department of Fish And Wildlife.  Like all dragonflies, S. hineana larvae are aquatic. The adults live in wetlands, prairies and along the banks of rivers. 

You may have heard of the recent controversy in Lockport, IL where the city wanted to dig for water but the DNR wouldn't allow them. Here's a link to that article in the Chicago Tribune if you're interested. In short, the city of Lockport was blocked to dig collapsed wells for city water due to the range of a small ecosystem of S. hineana. This has stirred up a lot of feelings between both conversationalists and humanitarians alike. Some thought that the city should find new avenues to dig for water, or start a coalition with other local townships to get water from other nearby rivers. Others thought that the dragonflies could deal with the city digging for water, and thought that human activities wouldn't impact the dragonflies at all. I'll leave my personal feelings on this one aside.

The Hines Emerald Dragonfly is one of the most well known dragonflies in the United States and has quite a few conservation efforts behind it. in 2009, Richard Wronski wrote in the Los Angeles times that funds from Illinois tolls were going toward research and conservation for the Dragonfly (Wronski, 2009). Even in 1993, before the dragonfly was formally on the Endangered Species list, Elizabeth Birge wrote about how conservation efforts for this species may have barred an expansion for I-355 (Birge, 1993). From what I can tell, the expansion still happened, though it's nice that the consideration was there.

Despite all these efforts, the Hines Emerald Dragonfly still is a critically endangered insect (Hines Emerald Dragonfly, 2016). The reasons for this are as follows:

• Habitat Destruction. Much of the wetlands and prairies in Illinois are considered endangered themselves, and therefore the animals that rely on it are obviously endangered as well (Hines Emerald Dragonfly, 2015). 
• Pesticides and Water Pollutants. Contamination of water and wetlands by industry as well as unsustainable farming methods are huge threats to the dragonfly and its life cycle (Hines Emerald Dragonfly, 2015). 

Though the Hines Emerald Dragonfly has many people standing up for it, as well as a government-placed conservation program, it sure could use your help!

What can you do???

Because the dragonfly is an aquatic-dependent organism, you can help by reducing or stopping use of lawn fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals that end up in ground water (Hines Emerald Dragonfly, 2015). Additionally, you can recycle used car oil and properly dispose of toxic chemicals and paints instead of letting these end up as trash.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Comment with your thoughts!

What do you think about the Lockport controversy? I can't find any updates on this issue, and I live very close to Lockport so this is of great interest to me. Did anyone go to the meeting in question? How would you feel if this happened in YOUR county or town?




REFERENCES:

Birge, E. (1993, July 04). Rare Dragonfly May Bar Way Of I-355 Extension. The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-07-04/news/9307040021_1_insect-scientists-extinct

Dragonfly drying up Lockport's future water needs. (2015, July 3). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/ct-sta-lockport-dragonfly-st-0705-20150703-story.html

Hine's Emerald Dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana). (2015, April 14). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/hed/hins_fct.html

Hine's emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana). (2016, February 22). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.fws.gov/Midwest/endangered/insects/hed/index.html

Wronski, R. (2009, September 1). Illinois tolls pitch in to save endangered dragonfly. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/01/nation/na-dragonfly1