Let's catch them all -- help us find all the colorful dragonflies and damselflies that are returning to the Santa Cruz River! For decades, the river was dry, but now it is flowing in many sections thanks to the release of high-quality recycled water in Pima and Santa Cruz Counties. Beautiful dragonflies and damselflies have come back to the river, but we need your help to find them all and show the world how successful these river restoration efforts have been. New species are still showing up on the river and you can help find them!
To participate in this community science project, you only have to have a camera, smartphone, or tablet, and an account with iNaturalist. In coordination with our annual Santa Cruz River Dragonfly Festival, we tally how many species we can find along the river each September. But don't stop there! Continue to add observations anytime throughout the year.
Everyone is invited to participate! Just follow these easy steps:
1. Create an iNaturalist account and download the app or use the web interface
2. Visit any number of numerous locations along the Santa Cruz River and take photos of the dragonflies and damselflies you see
3. Upload your photos and observations to iNaturalist and we will include them in our tally of all the species found on the river!
Use the iNaturalist How-to Guide to create an account and download the app for your smartphone or tablet.
Learn how to Make an Observation in this guide.
Prefer video tutorials? Check out these iNaturalist Video Tutorials.
Watch this 7 minute video created for UArizona students to photograph dragonflies and damselflies for their insect class. Video Source: Dr. Michael Bogan
Watch a longer video (17 minutes) about photographing dragonflies and damselflies. Video source: Steve Hedges Photography
Visit AZDragonfly.org to learn even more!
