Swarm of dragonflies startles beachgoers in Rhode Island

Dragonflies alight on a concertgoerโ€™s fingers at the 2024 Newport Folk Festival July 28, 2024. Photo by Adam Kissick courtesy of the Newport Folk Festival

WESTERLY, R.I. (AP) โ€” A swarm of dragonflies stunned and surprised beachgoers over the weekend in Rhode Island.

Thousands of the dragonflies, relatively large and often beautifully colored insects, descended on Misquamicut beach Saturday. Video of the dragonflies shows beachgoers running for cover and hiding under blankets. People could be heard screaming.

Itโ€™s unclear what prompted the cloud of insects to visit the beach for several minutes and then largely disappear.

โ€œOne minute everything was calm. The next minute I saw the most dragonflies Iโ€™ve ever seen in my l,โ€ Nicole Taylor told WFSB-TV. โ€œIt lasted for like 3 minutes, and then they were gone. It was a very strange experience.โ€

Christina Vangel, who works at Alfieโ€™s Beach Store, said workers had to shoo the dragonflies out. โ€œAs the day went on there were tons of them everywhere. We had to close the doors,โ€ she said.

Chris Fiore, whose family owns Alfieโ€™s, across the street from the beach, marveled at the unique onslaught of dragonflies. โ€œIt was fascinating. There were big clouds of them,โ€ he said.

The swam of dragonflies also spread across the thousands of concert-goers at the Newport Folk Festival at Fort Adams State Park.

Dragonflies feed mostly on insects like mosquitos and midges, relying on a swiveling head and huge eyes to catch their prey. Some species breed in July and August including the common green darner dragonfly found in Rhode Island. They donโ€™t normally sting or bite humans.

No one quite knows what causes them to swarm, said Virginia โ€œGingerโ€ Brown, the stateโ€™s leading expert on dragonflies on a Zoom call with reporters on Monday. She offered some advice if the rare event ever happens again,

โ€œEnjoy it and observe it, because you might not ever see it again. These are such important insects in the ecosystem, and they are drop-dead gorgeous up close,โ€ Brown said.

More from 630WPRO.COM