Seeing the Unseen: The Dragonfly Mercury Project

Journey through the Dragonfly Mercury Project in this graphic narrative. How do aquatic insects allow us to track an invisible pollutant in our parks?

Expand to view alternative text for graphic narrative

Watercolor illustrations in comic-style panels with handwritten text.

Page 1

Top panel: Underwater scene with lily pads, aquatic plants, and a swimming newt. Text: We are searching for a very special insect.
Bottom panel: Grey newt with orange stomach swims through aquatic plants away from a scooping net. Text: It lives on every continent except Antarctica.

Page 2

Top panel: Net digs into the mud at bottom of the pond. Text: Spends 5–6 years in a larval state under water.
Middle panel: Hand lifts net out of water, filled with pond mud. Text: And is a top predator of the aquatic insect world.
Bottom panel: Two people crouch over net to examine muddy contents. Left, person with light skin, curly red hair, and grey t-shirt. Right, person with dark skin, green ballcap, curly black hair, and blue latex gloves prods mud with a tool. Text: An insect that holds some answers about an invisible toxin in our ecosystem.

Page 3

Large illustration of an pale brown insect with a segmented body, small wing-like appendages, widely-spaced eyes, and pincer mouthparts. Text: This is a dragonfly larvae and every year scientists and volunteers collect them to monitor mercury levels. Inset: two people in focused conversation. Left, person with red hair furrows brow in confusion; speech bubble reads “But what do dragonfly larvae have to do with mercury pollution?” Right, person with ballcap smiles and raises a finger in explanation; speech bubble reads “Surprisingly, A LOT!”

Page 4

A grey plume swirls from top right of panel, passing in front of and encircling the Earth. At bottom right, the end of the plume passes behind taloned legs descending from an unseen bird of prey, which grasp a colorful speckled fish. The fish strains open-mouthed for a crayfish, which reaches for an insect, followed by a worm. This food chain is framed by the grey plume and a warm yellow-orange circle, with a matching circle at upper left. Text: Mercury is a naturally occurring heavy metal that can enter the atmosphere through human activities and environmental sources like volcanic eruptions. It travels long distances before depositing on land and water. It is taken up by fish and wildlife and travels up the food chain. As big creatures eat little creatures, they acquire all the mercury that was in their prey.

Page 5

Outline of North America filled in with varied green colors against varied blue background. Five black-and-white loons drawn in mid-flight soar across the continent. Small inset bubbles pointing to different locations contain a salmon, a toad, and a small fish. Text: When first designing the study scientists asked. “How can we compare mercury levels across the country? When each ecosystem has different wildlife all processing mercury in unique ways and often moving between water bodies and sometimes hard to catch?”

Page 6

A forest pond surrounded by grass and conifer trees. A person with dark skin, a dark braid, and an orange life jacket and beanie stands shin-deep in the water holding a net. A cutaway view shows underwater, where the net scoops up mud and debris. A curving plant stem spreads into a lily pad on the pond’s surface. In background, a woman and child, both wearing orange life jackets, hold nets and peer into water. A white cooler rests on the grass. Inset: Person with ballcap explains to person with red hair. “And this is how we get to dragonflies.” Text in main panel: All over the country scientists, students, and volunteers wade into tundra streams, desert oases, and urban wetlands. Ponds and streams you might have walked by before—for larvae!

Page 7

Top panel: Twigs reach in from edges of the frame against a yellow-green background and blue water. At upper left, mating blue dragonflies arc their segmented abdomens to link with each other. A red arrow leads to a dragonfly dipping the end of its abdomen in the water to lay a cluster of eggs. A red arrow leads underwater to a large brown larva with a small fish in its jaws. A final red arrow returns above water to an adult dragonfly emerging from a shriveled, brown larval skin. Text: Because the larvae don’t travel very far, they’re obligate carnivores,
Bottom left panel: Two people wearing orange life jackets bend over a net with mud. Person with red curly hair points into net grinning, while person with green ballcap peers in holding a plastic spoon. Text: and relatively easy to catch
Bottom right panel: Close-up of a small brown larva sitting in a plastic spoon, against a yellow background. Text: they are excellent indicators of mercury levels in other organisms.

Page 8

Two people wearing orange life jackets crouch on a grassy bank by water in a forest of evergreens. On the grass are a white plastic bin filled with water, an ice cube tray, and two nets. Left, person with red hair wears blue latex gloves and examines an object in their hand. Right, person with green ballcap holds a small bag containing a dragonfly larva. Text: What larger stories can be told by life beneath the water’s surface? By collecting a small number of dragonfly larvae each year we can continue studying mercury, where it’s building up in our landscapes, where it’s coming from and how it gets there.

Page 9

Top left panel: Partial view of white ice cube tray with water in the cups, several containing brown larvae. Text: We can make safer decisions for wildlife and people
Top right panel: Red bar chart against blue background. Two hands with outstretched thumb and pointer fingers trace the chart shape. Text: Policy makers can make informed decisions to reduce toxic chemicals in places we love.
Bottom panel: Colorful sunset over a lake with trees. Angler stands on the grass bank holding a fishing rod. Large white sign shows a fish icon placed between a fork and knife, with a red X through the fish. Text: And park managers can protect ecosystem and public health like fish advisories where mercury levels are too high to safely eat fish.

Page 10

Top panel: Small square with dragonfly. Text: There are things in life that might seem invisible at first, but their cascading impacts can be seen and felt all around us
Middle panel: Close-up of a colorful dragonfly in flight, with yellow and brown striped body covered in small hairs and colorful teal and red compound eyes. Text: These small but fierce insects offer us a window
Bottom panel: Close-up of a single compound dragonfly eye, with a honeycomb pattern of hexagonal facets reflecting in colors of green, purple, and red. Text: into the connections that tie together ecosystems, human activity, and health.

Page 11

Abstract pattern of hexagons, large in upper right corner but dwindling to the lower right corner where they end in flying dragonfly. Green, blue, purple, and red colors come together in watercolor blooms inside the hexagons. Text inside largest hexagon: Join the Dragonfly Mercury Project to look closely, and help paint a clearer picture.

Meet the artist: Maddi Bacon

Maddi Bacon is a conservationist, storyteller, and artist. They have spent the past several years working seasonally for conservation corps, national parks, and national forests, which has been the source of much inspiration for their work. Their art takes the form of many mediums including painting, animation, and comics. See more of Maddi's work at their website.