Through the Woods: Is this a spider?

At first glance this may look like a spider. But it isn’t. A quick, easy way to tell is to count its legs. Spiders have four legs on each side. Insects have three legs on each side. This is an insect. I am holding it safely by one of its legs. In this way, the insect is not harmed while I photograph it.

This little critter is a dragonfly nymph. It looks pretty ugly at this stage of life. There are three stages of life for dragonflies: the egg stage, the nymph stage and the adult stage. Eggs are usually laid in quiet pond water where they hatch and turn into nymphs. The nymphs remain underwater for up to four years before climbing out, shedding its exoskeleton in springtime and becoming a flying adult.

There are several kinds of dragonflies native to Missouri. It is hard to tell which kind of dragonfly a nymph will be as an adult. Dragonflies eat mosquitoes. I used a garden rake to pull leaf debris from the edge of a pond to find this harmless nymph.

Horrell is an artist and outdoorsman. He lives in Chaffee. He owns Painted Wren Art Gallery in Cape Girardeau.