Minnesota Dragonfly Society

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Plymouth, MN
Minnesota Dragonfly Society

501(c)(3) organization formed to ensure conservation of Minnesota’s dragonflies and damselflies through research and education.

09/03/2026

Just a reminder, Monarch Festival is coming up fast. MDS will be participating again this year. Look for us near the MN Zoo inflatables. We will be in Quad U with the MN Zoo, Bell Museum and Terra Encantada.

Date: Saturday, 9/12/2026
Time: 10am-4pm
Place: 49th Street & Woodland Blvd, east of Lake Nokomis Community Center on Minnehaha Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN 55417.

08/23/2026

MDS is seeking volunteers to help at our Monarch Fest booth. No experience necessary. If you are interested in helping, please reach out to our co-event leaders: AmyJo and Claire at their email addresses listed below.

Event: Minneapolis Monarch Festival held at Lake Nokomis at 49th St & Woodland Blvd
Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026 from 10am-4pm
Set-up at 9am and takedown at 4pm.
Co-leads: [email protected] & [email protected]

07/15/2026

One of our most popular events is happening this Saturday, July 18th from 10am to 2pm as we partner with the great Three River Park folks at Eastman Nature Center for Dragonfly Festival.

Details:
Date: Saturday, July 18, 2026
Time: 10am-2pm
Place: Eastman Nature Center, 13351, Elm Creek Rd, Osseo, MN 55369

This is a fun event for all ages. There is a tent with dragonflies you can step into for an up-close experience, visit the pond and swoop for dragonfly and damselfly nymphs along with other macroinvertebrates, join others in the prairie with an aerial net to catch dragonflies and learn the name of the specie you caught, plus you can chat with the MDS volunteers at our booth to ask that dragonfly question you have just got to ask!

If you are interested in volunteering with us, please contact our Event Lead, Claire at [email protected].

07/08/2026

Reminder that there will be an Ode Hunt on the North Shore on Saturday, July 11, 2026. Details below...

For our North Shore Ode Enthusiasts and those willing to travel, MDS is sponsoring an ode hunt on Saturday, July 11 to begin at Tettegouche State Park at 10am. The event leaders will be Jeff Fischer and Mike Moen. If you would like to participate but don’t own an aerial net, Jeff will have 10 extra nets along.
The event will last from 10am to 3pm. Bring footwear that can get wet, along with a lunch, water and snacks to last the 5 hours.

DATE: July 11, 2026, Saturday
STARTING PLACE: Tettegouche State Park, 5702 MN-61, Silver Bay, MN 55614
MEET UP TIME: 10am in the parking lot in front of the Tettegouche Visitor Center
EVENT ENDS: 3pm

The Tettegouche State Park visitors center and its adjacent parking lot are part of a MnDOT Class 1 safety rest area, and you can use them without purchasing a state park vehicle permit. Parking in the park for recreational purposes does require a valid state park vehicle permit.

07/02/2026

For our North Shore Ode Enthusiasts and those willing to travel, MDS is sponsoring an ode hunt on Saturday, July 11 to begin at Tettegouche State Park at 10am. The event leaders will be Jeff Fischer and Mike Moen. If you would like to participate but don’t own an aerial net, Jeff will have 10 extra nets along.

The event will last from 10am to 3pm. Bring footwear that can get wet, along with a lunch, water and snacks to last the 5 hours.

DATE: July 11, 2026, Saturday
STARTING PLACE: Tettegouche State Park, 5702 MN-61, Silver Bay, MN 55614
MEET UP TIME: 10am in the parking lot in front of the Tettegouche Visitor Center
EVENT ENDS: 3pm

The Tettegouche State Park visitors center and its adjacent parking lot are part of a MnDOT Class 1 safety rest area and you can use them without purchasing a state park vehicle permit. Parking in the park for recreational purposes does require a valid state park vehicle permit.

06/16/2026

Please come on down 6/20/26 Saturday (meeting, field trip and picnic) and 6/21/2026 Sunday (field trip) for this MDS Event. We will have a short meeting followed by field trips to search for dragonflies and damselflies and wrap up Saturday evening with a a member's picnic. You can join right at the event!

While the Event posted on our June Calendar under June 20 & 21, 2026 states registration is not required, IT IS REQUIRED IF YOU WILL BE STAYING FOR THE PICNIC. (How else will we know how much food to get?)

Here are the event details:

Saturday, 6/20: Check-in Time at 8:30am
Location: Chester Woods, 8378 Hwy 14, East Eyota, MN
Park Pavilion # 5
Business meeting from 9am-10am
Following the meeting we will break into 2 groups for a field trip lasting from 10am to 5pm. We will carpool so bring a bag lunch with you.
Members picnic from 6pm to 8pm back at Pavilion # 5.

Sunday, 6/21: Chester Woods, near Pavilion # 5 . Gather at 8:30am to again break into two groups for a field trip lasting from 9am to noon and returning back to the parking lot at Chester Woods.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]

The registration link is available at our website (www.mndragonfly.org) under the Events tab in the June calendar under the dates of June 20 & 21.

The species we will be going for are: Sioux Snaketail, Variable Dancer, Rusty Snaketail, Horned Clubtail, Pronghorn Clubtail, Plains Clubtail, Red Saddlebags, Ebony Jewelwing, River Jewelwing, Blue-tipped Dancer, Sweetflag Spreadwing and more.

See park map below with arrow pointing to Pavilion # 5.

05/31/2026

MDS has an exciting opportunity for you to get out with other ode enthusiasts next Sunday, 6/7/2026 to explore the MN side of the St Croix River with ode expert Jeff Fischer in search of dragonflies on the wing. Starting place will be within Wild River State Park requiring your vehicle to have a valid MN State Park pass.

DETAILS
Date: Sunday, 6/7/2026
Time: 10:00am
Place: Wild River State Park, 39797 Park Trail, Center City, MN 55012
Meeting site in the park: Nevers Dam Parking Lot. See map below marked with bold arrow to Meeting up lot.

05/16/2026

Are you interested in participating in a St Croix survey for odes on the wing? Join Jeff Fischer for a field trip on Sunday, June 7th at 10am to begin at Wild River State Park. We will meet at the Nevers Dam Parking lot within the park. You will need a valid MN State Park Pass to enter the park. Because some of the field trip stops have limited parking, we will carpool and will leave the unused vehicles in the parking lot where we will return there at the end of the outing.

Date: Sunday, June 7th
Time: 10am
Place: Wild River State Park, 39797 Park Trail, Center City, MN 55012
Meet up at: Nevers Dam Parking Lot

Early June is a bonanza time along the St Croix River (and Sunrise River) especially if you fancy Clubtails. While we can’t guarantee all these species, a glance at the Chisago County records on Odonata Central shows sightings of 20+ Clubtail species from late May to early June. Some of my favs include: Black-shouldered Spinyleg, Splendid Clubtail, Cobra Clubtail, Skillet Clubtail. Pygmy Snaketail, Rusty Snaketail and St Croix Snaketail. Other species likely to see are Springtime Darners, American Emerald, Stream & Swift River Cruisers and possibly all 4 Baskettails (Beaverpond, Common, Prince & Spiny).

You will want to bring along water and pack a lunch or at least a granola bar or two for the outing. Hope to see you there!

05/12/2026

Mark your calendars for the MDS Annual Meeting with Field Trips to be held on June 20 & 21st (Saturday & Sunday) at Chester Woods Park in Olmsted County.

Saturday, 6/20: Check-In time 8:30am
Location: Chester Woods, 8378 Hwy 14, East Eyota, MN
Park Pavilion: #5
Business Meeting: 9am-10am
Following the meeting we will break into 2 groups to begin our field trips lasting from 10am-5pm. We will carpool so bring a bag lunch with you.
Members Picnic: 6pm-8pm back at Pavilion #5

Sunday, 6/21: Gathering time 8:30am
Location: Chester Woods, 8378 Hwy 14, East Eyota, MN
Near Park Pavilion #5
We will again carpool and break into 2 groups for a field trip from 9am to noon and return back to the parking lot at Chester Woods.

If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected]

Please click the blue link below this line and it will take you into the Reservation Form.

https://forms.gle/F8fgwx5bcdZqBLrJ6

05/11/2026

The City of Duluth Parks and Recreation Department is launching two Dragonfly Discovery days this summer. Nicole Birch, local Duluth dragonfly researcher and photographer (Bellskimmer Studio) will be leading the two events along the banks of the St Louis River at Morgan Park. There is no charge to attend, but you do need to pre-register at duluthmn.gov/parks/.

From that page you can click on the green box Program Registration which will explain how to create an account or register for activities. To the left on that page will be a Search box and if you enter the course number (as shown below) it will take you directly to a page where you can create an account or sign in. To read more about the program you can click the link to the Summer Program catalog and go to page 17 to read the event description. We have listed the date, time, location and course number.

Course # 4524
Saturday 6/27 11am-1pm Morgan Park 1242 88th Av W

Course # 4525
Saturday 7/11 11:30am-1:30pm Morgan Park 1242 88th Av W

Address

Minnesota Dragonfly Society P. O. Box 46192
Plymouth, MN
55446

Website

http://www.mndragonfly.org/

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