Newsletter Signup
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
Dragonflies swarm RI beach, sending beachgoers scrambling
Videos of the swarm quickly went viral, with social media users likening the scene to an “invasion,” or something out of “Jumanji.”
A sunny beach day in Rhode Island took an unusual turn Saturday when Misquamicut State Beach was overrun by a dragonfly swarm of biblical proportions.
Videos posted to social media show bewildered beachgoers ducking for cover and pulling out their phones to film as the insects zoom by. Commenters likened the swarm to an “invasion,” or a scene out of the supernatural jungle-themed movie “Jumanji.”
Speaking to The Boston Globe, Helene Dombrowski estimated there were a few hundred dragonflies at the beach when she and her family arrived around 9:30 a.m. Later, she said, a “black blob” rapidly approached from across the water, bringing thousands more insects to shore.
Advertisement:
“I’ve never seen anything like that. Maybe a few dozen at a time of dragonflies, but never in that amount,” the Connecticut resident told The Globe.
Virginia A. Brown — who literally wrote the book on dragonflies in the Ocean State — told NBC 10 WJAR in 2021 that the Common Green Darner is among several native dragonfly species that migrate each year, making up the bulk of the massive swarms.
“When you’re seeing them along the beach, they’re making their annual trip,” Brown told WJAR, calling the sight “magical.”
One silver lining for beachgoers who experienced Saturday’s swarm: Common Green Darners are sometimes called “mosquito hawks” because they’re known to gobble up the pesky bloodsuckers.
@rosiemcg03 what does this mean?? #fyp #dragonflies #rhodeisland #misquamicut ♬ Apocalypse – Aytac Turkut & Zethis
@labasaurus Crazy dragonfly swarm at Misquamicut Beach in RI 7/27/24 “To use this video in a commercial player or in broadcasts, please contact [email protected]”
♬ original sound – Helene Dombrowski
Be civil. Be kind.
Read our full community guidelines.