Dragonfly Eye

While I have been waiting for my wife to go into labor I have been working on my records.  Yesterday I finished the data sheets for the NY DEC survey, and dropped them in the mail.  Today I finally got around to logging into my OdonataCentral account and start uploading records.  I just finished putting in all new county/species records from 2005.  I had 15 new records in 2005, but only uploaded 13 of them.  The other two did not have good enough pictures to make a correct ID, but I have better pictures from 2006.  Uploading your records is made very easy.  Before they are accepted a biologist needs to review each record for correctness.  This site is the definitive storing house for dragonfly research.  You can search by counties or by species.  It uses Google earth to display collection locations.  Check it out and upload your records!

This unique species is the only one within its genus. It is one of the Pond Damsels, family Coenagrionidae. Some other genus in the family include the bluets, dancers, forktails, and red damsels. Most people would look at this damselfly and think that it was a bluet. If you take a closer look through, you will see that there are a few differences. For one, when the damsel is at rest it will hold its wings apart like a spreadwing would. Also unlike any bluet, it has a patch of yellow on the lower sides of the thorax. Males have blue sides on the thorax with a lower yellow patch.  Males also have segments 8 & 9 almost completely blue.  In females and juvenile males the blue is typically replaced with a light brown or gray, but a blue form female does exist.

If you would like to find one, you should search in vegetation around calm water at streams, clean lakes, and ponds in early spring. It has also been found in bogs and fens. My early date is May 26 an the late date is June 9. I have found it at three locations, the Jamestown Audubon and the pond at the Rodger Tory Peterson Institute in Chautauqua county and locations in Allegany State Park including Red House lake (in Cattaraugus county).

This year was certainly not as productive as 2006, but it was mostly due to me. I took a new job this spring and spent the summer working through the transition. It also involved me moving from Chautauqua to Niagara county. I only visited 15 sites. Regardless of this I was still able to add 4 more dragonflies to my NY list, the Common Sanddragon, Beaverpond Baskettail, Beaverpond Clubtail, and 4-Spotted Skimmer. That brings my total count in NY up to 64.

Calopterygidae
Calopteryx maculata (Ebony Jewlwing)

Coenagrionidae
Amphiagrion saucium (Eastern Red Damsel)
Argia apicalis (Blue-fronted Dancer)
Argia fumipennis violacea (Variable Dancer)
Argia tibialis (Blue-tipped Dancer)
Chromagrion conditum (Aurora Damsel)
Enallagma antennatum (Rainbow Bluet)
Enallagma ebrium (Marsh Bluet)
Enallagma geminatum (Skimming Bluet)
Enallagma signatum (Orange Bluet)
Enallagma traviatum (Slender Bluet)
Enallagma vesperum - Vesper Bluet
Ischnura posita (Fragile Forktail)
Ischnura verticalis (Eastern Forktail)
Nehalennia irene (Sedge Sprite)

Lestidae
Lestes inaequalis (Elegant Spreadwing)
Lestes rectangularis - Slender Spreadwing

Aeshnidae
Anax junius - Common Green Darner

Corduliidae
Epicordulia princeps - Prince Baskettail
*Tetragoneuria canis - Beaverpond Baskettail
Epitheca (tetragoneuria) cynosura - Common Baskettail

Gomphidae
Arigomphus villosipes (Unicorn Clubtail)
Gomphus fraternus - Midland Clubtail
Gomphus lividus (Ashy Clubtail)
*Gomphus borealis- Beaverpond Clubtail
Gomphus spicatus (Dusky Clubtail)
Stylurus spiniceps - Arrow Clubtail (Exuvia)
*Progomphus obscurus - Common Sanddragon

Libellulidae
Celithemis elisa (Calico Pennant)
Erythemis simplicicollis (Eastern Pondhawk)
Leucorrhinia intacta (Dot-tailed Whiteface)
Libellula (Ladona) julia - Chalk-fronted Corporal
Libellula luctuosa (Widow Skimmer)
Libellula pulchella (Twelve-spotted Skimmer)
*Libellula quadrimaculata - 4 Spotted Skimmer
Perithemis tenera (Eastern Amberwing)
Plathemis lydia (Common Whitetail)

Tramea lacerata - Black Saddlebags

July 21st I went with the family to visit the mighty Niagara River to see the falls. I was also hoping to do a little surveying while I was out. We had a great time exploring Goat Island, taking a voyage on the Maid of the Mist, and walking to the foot of the falls in the Cave of the Winds. I did not find one dragonfly though! I’ll admit I wasn’t preforming an extensive survey, but the whole day I did not see a single ode. I would assume that this is because the rapids are so violent. I also do not know what flies on other parts of the river. Has anyone done any surveying above or below the falls?

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I have been very bad about updating lately.  Thats because of some changes in my life right now.  I took a job in Medina and am in the process of moving to Lockport.  Because of this I have not had time for much surveying this summer, but the upside is that I now have four more counties that are easily accessible.  I just have to find places to go!  Today was the first day I ventured out at lunch.  I stopped at a small stream running through a park in Medina.  From the car I saw many Powered Dancers, but nothing else.  I suppose I’ll need to get out of the car and do some walking soon.

I made a purchase recently that has already been a great addition to my insect pursuits, a pair of close focusing binoculars.  After much (~3 months) of consideration I went with the Pentax Papilio 8.5×21.  They focus down to 18 inches!  I had also seriously considered the Eagle Optics Ranger 8×32, which I had tried out, but didn’t like as much.  I am happy with my choice, and cant say enough about these!  They act like a hand-held microscope if you are close enough, and work great as binoculars too.  I have been using them for birds with great success.  The best par was they were practically free.  I didn’t want to move my jars of change, and I didn’t want to roll it, so I took it to one of the coin counting machines in the grocery store.  If you get a Amazon gift certificate instead of cash it doesn’t cost anything.  So I used my found money to cover the bill…

Here are the results of my last two “real” surveys.

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The nature pilgrimage was great this year, but the best part of my weekend was not spent in a organized workshop, but at Red House Lake and a few Beaverponds. Here are my lists for the weekend.

6-1-2007 Red House Lake (picnic area by admin building)

• Aurora Damsel
• Eastern Forktail
• Common Sanddragon*
• Common Baskettail*
• Dusky Clubtail*
• Common Green Darner

6-2 France Brook Rd beaverpond

• Beaverpond Baskettail
• Beaverpond Clubtail
• Dot-tailed Whiteface
• Common Whitetail
• Eastern Forktail

6-2 ASP 2 Beaverpond

• Fragile Forktail
• Eastern Forktail
• Aurora Damsel
• Beaverpond Baskettail*
• Common Whitetail
• Dot-tailed Whiteface
• Common Green darner
• Beaverpond Clubtail *
• Unicorn Clubtail *
• Common Baskettail *
• Chalk-fronted Corpral *

6-2 Bova Ski Beaverpond (Drained within the last year)

• Beaverpond Baskettail
• Unicorn Clubtail
• Eastern Forktail
• Common Whitetail

* Denotes a specimen was taken

Bold denotes a species of “Greatest Conservation Need” for NY

The Common Sanddragon is currently only known from two rivers in the Adirondacks. I found it during the Nature Pilgrimage at Red House Lake. This was one of three lifers I got over the weekend! My other two lifers were the Beaverpond Baskettail and Clubtail. I also observed some other interesting ode behavior I will write about soon.

I had a nice morning walk at the Jamestown Audubon today. The first part of the morning I had fun looking for wildflowers with Jeff, one of their naturalists. He showed me a most beautiful Pink Ladies Slipper. After that I spent an hour looking for dragonflies. I got most of the usual ones for this time of year.

• Eastern Forktail
• Dot-tailed Whiteface
• Common Whitetail
• Widow Skimmer
• Sedge Sprite
• Slender Spreadwing
• 12-Spotted Skimmer
• Black Saddlebags
• Common Green Darner
• Fragile Forktail

I have been looking forward to sunny spring days all winter long. One of my many reasons was a smallish dragonfly called the Ebony Boghaunter (Williamsonia fletcheri). These are a rare dragonfly that are typically only seen in bogs. They are old dragonflies that are thought to be left over from a colder period before temperate forests moved north.

I invited Mon@rch to come along with me. I always enjoy have people much smarter than myself along. It save a lot of time in your field guide, and you learn all sorts of new things. As usual I was not disappointed. Tom is a wiz with birds, and had no problem blowing my mind by identifying them all with out even seeing them. He would hear a song and call out a name, then we would match a bird with its song. It always amazes me that I could walk by so many different types of birds and never know what I had missed. The warblers that we saw were so colorful. If I keep walking with Tom I might just give up the net for a pair of binoculars!

While the Allenburg Bog is a great place to hunt for dragonflies, I did not find my Boghaunter. It may have been too early in the season, or they may just not be there. It may have even been to early in the day as we left before noon. I will just have to keep looking another day. We did manage to scare up a Common Green Darner, my only ode species for the day.

A trip to the bog always gives a great wildflower show. I found my first blooming trillium and gold-thread for the year. We also saw Trout Lily and Spring Beauties. Lots of others have not started to bloom yet. I’ll leave you with a few shots.

Goldthread

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Today we took advantage of the nice weather and went for a walk at the Jamestown Audubon Society. I was hoping to find some Eastern Forktail damselflies, but instead found a much larger critter. The Common Green Darners were flying around the ponds. I even got to see a few tandem pairs. They were flying around before the cold spell hit us two weeks ago, but I never got to see them. They are typically the first dragonfly of the year. This is because they are one of the few that migrate. I didn’t get any pictures, but I will leave you with this one from last year.

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.