Autumn

Darters keep flying well into the autumn

The shortening autumn days are livened up by darters, which are usually quite small red dragonflies. They fly from late summer well into the autumn, and on Ruissalo darters can even be seen in November in mild autumns. On a clear autumn day, bright-coloured darters can be quite abundant and easy to spot on paths and by the roadside as they stalk prey. Darters breed in small water bodies, laying their eggs in the autumn. Most dragonflies spend the winter as larvae at the bottoms of ponds, but darters winter as eggs. The following summer, these eggs hatch into larvae, which on some beautiful autumn day will rise up and take wing to continue their lineage.