Dragonfly Eye

Even though it is still snowing outside I was still able to find a new Chautauqua County dragonfly record.  Last year in late July I happened to pick up an interesting dragonfly exuvia.  It was on the side of a concrete bridge embankment.  It has been sitting under my monitor ever since.  I happened across it again last week.  I decided to ask the Northeast Odonates list serve on Yahoo.  This is the place to go if you have questions on anything involving dragonflies.  My inbox started filing up imediatly with responses.  They all said one thing “Stylurus spiniceps (Arrow Clubtail)”.  This is an intesting dragonfly.  It is one of the Arigomphus clubtails.  They are rarely seen “on the wing” since they spend most of their time in the upper canopy of trees where they make quick flights to snag passing insects.  Most records actually come from exuviae which are quite easy to find.  In New York this is a species of special concern.

This brings me to a new project that I will be working on next year.  I have decided to try my hand at raising dragonfly nymphs next year.  I was inspired by Nick Donnelly’s article in the Spring 2006 Boghaunter.  This is a great way to survey rivers and streams.  I’ll keep everyone posted on how it turns out.