While the mainland boasts nearly 500 species, only eight are documented on the islands, and only one of them is endemic. The remote location is not an issue because dragonflies are able to cross great expanses. The problem is water. Most dragonflies can only breed in fresh water, where their larvae often spend years in development. The only permanent fresh water in the Galapagos occurs at El Junco lake on San Cristobal Island, which not coincidentally is the location of the only endemic Galapagos species (Aeshna galapagoensis). The only other places welcoming to dragonfly nymphs are temporary pools in the highlands and isolated freshwater lagoons. When the pools dry up, some are able to hunker down in the mud until the next rain. But some species probably die out in particularly dry years and are replenished by new migrants.
Male Striped Saddlebags dragonfly near Punta Carola.
Along Punta Carola a small group of Striped Saddlebags dragonflies (Tramea calverti) swarmed almost every morning in the vegetation above the beach. The females have a yellow abdomen, while the males are red. Both have clear wings and a long bar close to their bodies on their hind wings. In the highlands, I saw a few great pondhawks (Erythemis vesiculosa) in the brush, several miles from El Junco. They are larger and bright green from head to tail.
