Rhode Island
Swarm of dragonflies startles beachgoers in Rhode Island
![Swarm of dragonflies startles beachgoers in Rhode Island Swarm of dragonflies startles beachgoers in Rhode Island](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/abc_news_default_2000x2000_update_16x9_992.jpg)
WESTERLY, R.I. — 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.
It’s unclear what prompted the cloud of insects to visit the beach for several minutes and then largely disappear.
“One minute everything was calm. The next minute I saw the most dragonflies I’ve ever seen in my life,” Nicole Taylor told WFSB-TV. “It lasted for like 3 minutes, and then they were gone. It was a very strange experience.”
Christina Vangel, who works at Alfie’s Beach Store, said workers had to shoo the dragonflies out. “As the day went on there were tons of them everywhere. We had to close the doors,” she said.
Chris Fiore, whose family owns Alfie’s, across the street from the beach, marveled at the unique onslaught of dragonflies. “It was fascinating. There were big clouds of them,” he said.
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 don’t normally sting or bite humans.
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Rhode Island
Wildlife expert says dragonflies that swarmed Rhode Island beach were migrating
![Wildlife expert says dragonflies that swarmed Rhode Island beach were migrating Wildlife expert says dragonflies that swarmed Rhode Island beach were migrating](https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/29/116c360e-49f8-42b3-96c6-70952cb96cb5/thumbnail/1200x630/c97688f113c0fd6b6780055de2a8909b/b698e8689a2c39f6c596c9d652dfd585.jpg?v=5501038cbc281520ff9fdc308faab7dc)
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Rhode Island
Dragonfly swarm takes over Rhode Island beach:
![Dragonfly swarm takes over Rhode Island beach: Dragonfly swarm takes over Rhode Island beach:](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/29/5b4cc1fb-0a87-429f-b09b-ad019abf71dd/thumbnail/1200x630/cef51aa62eac604ef1acd0e770898dab/dragonfly-crop.png?v=5501038cbc281520ff9fdc308faab7dc)
WESTERLY, R.I. – A day at the beach turned into something out of a movie in Rhode Island when a swarm of dragonflies descended on beachgoers.
Videos posted to social media show some on Misquamicut Beach in Westerly covering up with towels Saturday as the insects flew overhead.
“I’m kind of scared,” one person is heard saying in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, by user @Getlucky12341. “Is the world ending?”
“Hundreds of thousands of dragonflies”
“Invasion of the Dragonflies!” was the caption Mark Stickney chose for the video he posted to Facebook. He told WBZ-TV he got to the beach at about 11 a.m. and “started seeing dragonflies everywhere.”
The largest swam moved in from the ocean at about 1 p.m.
“It must’ve numbered in the hundreds of thousands of dragonflies,” Stickney said. “It was surreal.”
He said the dragonflies weren’t bothering anybody, and most beachgoers stayed put. Stickney said the insects reminded him of X-wing fighters from “Star Wars.”
“I thought it was amazing,” he said. “It was an astonishing sight.”
What causes a dragonfly swarm?
Evan LaCross, a spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Management in Rhode Island, said dragonflies are known to swarm open spaces like fields, freshwater sources and beaches.
“The swarms of dragonflies that the public observed throughout Rhode Island last weekend are most likely dragonflies dispersing in search of suitable habitat or in response to high population densities,” LaCross said. “It’s impossible to know where they are coming from, but if surface water is drying up or if dragonfly population densities are high, they are known to disperse in search of new suitable habitat.”
Rhode Island typically sees a seasonal migratory flight of dragonflies from mid-August to mid-September as they head south, he said.
Rhode Island
Watching climate change is scary. Barrington students wanted local opportunities to take action, so they started a club. – The Boston Globe
![Watching climate change is scary. Barrington students wanted local opportunities to take action, so they started a club. – The Boston Globe Watching climate change is scary. Barrington students wanted local opportunities to take action, so they started a club. – The Boston Globe](https://bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/LLu6QxdSLnX2w62NDq7rmMqd62g=/506x0/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bostonglobe/52DJOPWF7OCQAY6BJ65MSJOBGA.jpg)
On Aug. 5, the student-run group will travel to Washington, D.C., to receive the President’s Environmental Youth Award from the Environmental Protection Agency in Region 1, a prize more often won by their Massachusetts peers.
The last Rhode Island team to win the PEYA award did it in 2010, when Westerly Innovation Network/Westerly Middle School’s Project T.G.I.F. won for their project, “Turn Grease Into Fuel.”
Pautz and Goblick, who are going to be seniors this fall, spoke with the Globe ahead of their trip to the nation’s capital about the inspiration for their activism, their work to combat climate change and educate the public, and their goals for BEE.
Q. What inspired you to found the Barrington Environmental Establishment?
A. Abi and I started in seventh grade. There were protests in 2018 and 2019 led by youth advocates. We were inspired and met with our middle school principal and started a club. Once we got to high school, we branched out to more things — a sapling sale, a compost station, community cleanups — that all accumulated to BEE our sophomore year. We noticed when we hosted environmental weeks at our school or club that not a lot of people knew about climate change. There were a lot of misconceptions and we realized, even in the broader community with adults, they also had a limited understanding. We created an organization that works to provide educational opportunities without shoving it down people’s throats. — Pautz
What do you think made your PEYA application stand out from the rest?
We took on a difficult issue and found ways for people to feel empowered in such a complex and overwhelming situation. We focused on straightforward actions that anyone could feel comfortable participating in: education, opportunities for action, and community engagement. Being entirely student-led, our club demonstrates the proactive spirit of young people taking charge of their future, which can be empowering to both peers and adults, knowing that ‘if they can do something, why can’t I?’ Additionally, we focus on action, like the public compost drop-off and sapling sales, modeling that change can start at the local level. — Pautz and Goblick
![The Barrington Environmental Establishment encourages the use of reusable items by painting tote bags during an event at the Barrington Public Library.](https://bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NYENAM3WWBGOHGX7WX373XFJHU.png?auth=ba574155b83028f1df0e2629f23344fdf9f4d4b7df2c1cf9d3428aca23c0f082&width=1440)
What inspired you about Greta Thunberg’s protests?
She showed that someone who is an underdog can rise up. You wouldn’t expect a shy, more reserved person to do that. It showed adults that if someone so young is trying to do something about climate change — and it’s important to someone so young — it should be important to you, too. Everyone should be doing something about the climate crisis. — Pautz
Thunberg, who has been detained twice in the Netherlands, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year since 2019. How do you apply her activism to BEE?
For us, what we realized, is that we needed to be less aggressive. We felt that when we took that aggressive approach, people were more resistant and decided to deny what we were saying, or were like, “Oh, its not that bad.” We chose to go a different route than how I interpreted Greta Thunberg’s message. It’s important that she is out there confronting people, and spreading more information about how severe climate crisis is. — Pautz
![Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg stands onstage during a Fridays for Future global climate strike in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 24, 2021.](https://bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/R2UUYB6YZBVLN7TBATKNUI4XP4.jpg?auth=551084226741cd0b4ac354278aa8898d98c4b3d68011bf42b2140fd659bbc06d&width=1440)
What does “environmental activism” mean to you?
Environmental activism means spreading the message to people who aren’t aware of environmental issues. What we aim to do through biweekly newsletters and our once-a-month events is raise awareness. We take a more collaborative approach where students can make posters or do something creative, more than just talking to them. Environmental activism is bringing the community together, so we can all work to educate people about climate change. — Goblick
When I saw what Greta Thunberg and other students were doing, it scared me and that fear drove me to do something. Some people don’t want to confront fear. We wanted to provide the opportunity to do something. Our newsletters give people more knowledge and our events allow people to do a cleanup that helps you feel empowered and less helpless about climate change. — Pautz
What worries you most about climate change?
I’m afraid what my future will look like is not going to be anything like what my parents or grandparents experienced. With climate change everything is uncertain. I might not be able to live in certain places or I won’t be able to have children. Maybe I’ll experience a natural disaster. I think on a less severe scale, watching your world change is scary. — Pautz
![Photographs from a severe storm in December 2023 show flooding in Barrington, R.I. These events have become more and more common in recent years.](https://bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/KYUIHS3J4JGD3IJBAOQLIDVANE.png?auth=8cc784bdccab4459c415553faf89409c0e443df40162b5bb4203c4bd211d154e&width=1440)
How have students and community members reacted toward your club?
Most of our event attendees have been middle and high school students, who are eager to learn and act through our more creative projects. For example making tote bags, speaker events, and our beach cleanups. Adults and students alike have been supporters and readers of our newsletters. A big focus is getting information and opportunities to act to students. However, adults in our community have also been incredibly supportive. They’ve helped us host events and even contributed as speakers. Tanya Paglia of the Barrington Public Library has been instrumental in helping us organize many of our events at the library. Save the Bay has generously provided supplies for our beach cleanups. Additionally, Professor Emanuele Di Lorenzo and Professor Kim Cobb from Brown University have led informative presentations. — Pautz and Goblick
What is your goal for the club after you’ve graduated?
We want to ensure its continuity and growth. We are looking for new, younger leaders, who can continue BEE’s legacy long after we graduate. Our long-term vision includes more community projects, more newsletter readers, and more partnerships with other local environmental organizations. We believe that Barrington Environmental Establishment is an organization that will continue to be influential in our community for many years. — Pautz and Goblick
Carlos Muñoz can be reached at carlos.munoz@globe.com. Follow him @ReadCarlos and on Instagram @Carlosbrknews.
-
Politics1 week ago
Manchin considers re-registering as Democrat to run for president
-
Politics1 week ago
Reporter's Notebook: 'Do not stop filming'
-
News1 week ago
How the Trump Rally Gunman Had an Edge Over the Countersnipers
-
World1 week ago
‘Torn up bodies’: Israel intensifies bombing campaign in Gaza
-
Politics1 week ago
Top five moments from Secret Service director's hours-long grilling after Trump assassination attempt
-
Politics1 week ago
Trump tells Jesse Watters that he was not warned about gunman, despite reports
-
World1 week ago
Four arrested in multimillion-dollar meth lab bust in South Africa
-
News1 week ago
Biden family grapples with pressure on their patriarch to step aside