Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from SE Odonata > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Wednesday, March 17 at 01:12 AM ET The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Red-legged Thrush,©David Sibley

17 Mar Wings and Things Walk ["Lois Stacey" ] 17 Mar Wings and Things Walk ["Lois Stacey" ] 16 Mar Wings and Things Walk ["Lois Stacey" ] 05 Mar Korean Ode Identification [1 Attachment] [Dennis Burnette ] 5 Mar Anticipation [Chris Hill ] 2 Mar Fw: [Odonata-l] FW: Dragonfly program - speaker needed [Joshua Stuart Rose ] 12 Feb Re: Burgundy Bluet question ... update ["Jan Roxburgh" ] 10 Feb dragonfly update in Miami ["Jan Roxburgh" ] 10 Feb dragonfly update in Miami ["Jan Roxburgh" ] 7 Feb SW Florida odes / Christmas - Lucifer damsels [] 6 Feb Re: Burgundy Bluet question ["Jan Roxburgh" ] 6 Feb Re: Burgundy Bluet question [Dennis Paulson ] 6 Feb Re: Burgundy Bluet question ["Jan Roxburgh" ] 3 Feb Re: Re: Burgundy Bluet question ... Dennis ["Jan Roxburgh" ] 02 Feb Re: Burgundy Bluet question ["jani" ] 1 Feb Re: Burgundy Bluet question [Dennis Paulson ] 1 Feb Re: Burgundy Bluet question ["Jan Roxburgh" ] 1 Feb Burgundy Bluet question [Dennis Paulson ] 11 Jan Globe Skimmer migration - longest of any known insect [Nate Dias ] 4 Jan Re: mystery ode [Dennis Paulson ] 4 Jan mystery ode [2 Attachments] ["Ali Iyoob" ] 29 Dec Re: Exuvia [Chris Hill ] 28 Dec Erythemis vesiculosa, Volusia County, FL [1 Attachment] [Chuck Tague ] 22 Dec solstice 09 greeting from marlene on my flickr site ["visualmm" ] 18 Dec Exuvia [Dennis Burnette ] 17 Dec Re: Erythemis vesiculosa, Brevard Co.FL [] 17 Dec Erythemis vesiculosa, Brevard Co.FL [Chuck Tague ] 17 Dec Prelude to the Dragonfly Videos [Martha Smith ] 09 Dec RFI - planning stages - MS/FL/GA - March 2010 ["Troy" ] 3 Dec A few dragonflies in coastal SC [Chris Hill ] 2 Dec ?'s About The Effects Of The Level Of The Water Table On Dragonfly Populations [Martha Smith ] 01 Dec Oding by kayak [May ] 30 Nov Re: Oding by kayak [Steve Hummel ] 30 Nov Oding by kayak ["Lois Stacey" ] 29 Nov Shadow Darner ["tom howe" ] 29 Nov Re: Aeshna umbrosa [Mary Ann Todd ] 29 Nov Aeshna umbrosa ["paul" ] 27 Nov SW Florida odes in December? [] 25 Nov Re: Citrine Forktails [Hal White ] 25 Nov Citrine Forktails [] 24 Nov Re: Just when I take my net and binocs out of the car for the winter... [Dennis Paulson ] 24 Nov Re: Just when I take my net and binocs out of the car for the winter... ["SL Brown" ] 23 Nov Just when I take my net and binocs out of the car for the winter... [Chris Hill ] 22 Nov late Ruby Meadowhawks ["gljeinwv AT juno.com" ] 20 Nov Re: Warning letter from Bioquip ["MARIE HEMEON" ] 19 Nov meadowhawks ["Ali Iyoob" ] 18 Nov Re: Warning letter from Bioquip [Dennis Paulson ] 17 Nov Re: Warning letter from Bioquip [Marion Dobbs ] 17 Nov Warning letter from Bioquip [azurebluet ] 17 Nov Warning letter from Bioquip [azurebluet ] 17 Nov Warning letter from Bioquip [azurebluet ] 17 Nov Warning letter from Bioquip [azurebluet ] 10 Nov Late season odes of the petite variety [Marion Dobbs ] 10 Nov meadowhawks and other late odes [] 9 Nov late odes and leps ["gljeinwv AT juno.com" ] 6 Nov Late season odonates in Early County GA 11/4/2009 ["Giff Beaton" ] 4 Nov Re: Fw: Lost Hiker [] 04 Nov Re: Fw: Lost Hiker [Alex Netherton ] 3 Nov Fw: Lost Hiker [] 30 Oct Still a few odes around in Northern SC [Chris Hill ] 24 Oct Hyacinth Glider (Miathyria marcella) in Richmond County, GA ["croakie1" ] 10 Oct Southwestern GA Odonates on 10/8/2009 ["Giff Beaton" ] 8 Oct Re: Meadowhawk [Dennis Paulson ] 08 Oct Re: [NCOdonates] NC mystery damsel photo [Alex Netherton ] 08 Oct Re: Meadowhawk [Alex Netherton ] 07 Oct Still a few odes in NE Georgia [Marion Dobbs ] 6 Oct NC mystery damsel photo ["birdranger" ] 6 Oct Ovipositing CGD; migrants [] 5 Oct Re: Meadowhawk it was not. Thanks! ["Jan Roxburgh" ] 5 Oct Re: Meadowhawk [] 5 Oct Re: Meadowhawk [Dennis Paulson ] 5 Oct meadowhawk [Greg Dodge ] 5 Oct Meadowhawk ["Jan Roxburgh" ] 4 Oct Lynches River County Park, Florence Co., South Carolina [Chris Hill ] 30 Sep Re: [se-odonata] Late Skimmers Conway SC [Mike May ] 30 Sep Re: Late Skimmers Conway SC [Mike May ] Subject: Wings and Things Walk From: "Lois Stacey" <croakie AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:11:26 -0400 It was pointed out to me that I forgot to put the meetng tme for the Silver Bluff Walk in my email. We will meet at the Kathwood Ponds on Silver Bluff Road near Jackson, SC at 9am. Lois Stacey North Augusta, SC (Aiken Cnty) www.augustaaikenaudubon.org Subject: Wings and Things Walk From: "Lois Stacey" <croakie AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:11:26 -0400 It was pointed out to me that I forgot to put the meetng tme for the Silver Bluff Walk in my email. We will meet at the Kathwood Ponds on Silver Bluff Road near Jackson, SC at 9am. Lois Stacey North Augusta, SC (Aiken Cnty) www.augustaaikenaudubon.org Subject: Wings and Things Walk From: "Lois Stacey" <croakie AT comcast.net> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:25:03 -0400 This will be a nature walk at the Silver Bluff Audubon Center in Jackson, SC presented by the Augusta-Aiken Audubon Society on Saturday April 3. We will meet at the Kathwood Ponds on Silver Bluff Rd. near Jackson, SC. Our primary focus will be dragonflies and butterflies but we're eclectic and will look at anything interesting we find along the way. Last year we had over 18 species of dragonflies and 18 species of butterflies for the day. If you'd like to stay the whole day bring a lunch and we'll investigate a different part of the center after lunch. Targeted species are Yucca Giant-skipper (there is a colony at the site) and Selys' Sundragon. Both are seen regularly this time of year. Other possible species are Pine Elfin and Harlequin Darner. Additional interesting species seen on last year's walk; Piedmont Clubtail, Sandhills Bluet; Harvester butterfly. On Monday April 5th I will be making a personal trip to Yuchi WMA in Burke County, GA looking for many of the same species. I am also planning on searching one particular area for Say's Spiketail. Last year about this time I had Goatweed Leafwing and Dusky Roadside-skipper here. If anyone is interested in joining me please email me off-list and we will set up a time and place to meet. Lois Stacey North Augusta, SC (Aiken Cnty) www.augustaaikenaudubon.org Subject: Korean Ode Identification [1 Attachment] From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:35:28 -0500 While I was in South Korea visiting my daughter, I managed to shoot a some photos of a few odes. All were shot in August in or near Seoul. I have posted them on my Flikr page at the following URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisburnette/sets/72157623436104455/ I would appreciate suggestions regarding their identities. (There's a separate set of butterfly photos, in case you're interested.) If you know of an Internet resource that would be useful in identifying Korean odes and/or other insects, please let me know. Thanks, Dennis Burnette Greensboro, NC Guilford County deburnette AT triad.rr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisburnette/ Subject: Anticipation From: Chris Hill <chill AT coastal.edu> Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2010 08:50:53 -0500 Going back through some old notes, I see March 14, March 17, March 6 as dates of the first flying odes I saw in some previous years around here. They're coming! It's sort of like "pitchers and catchers report in 12 days" to a baseball fan. We have had one "cold" spell after another here in Conway, SC. Cold here means mornings around freezing, days in the 40s this time of year, but normal daytime highs would be in the mid-50s, so we'll see if all these little cold snaps push the early emergers back a little. CH ************************************************************************ Christopher E. Hill Biology Department Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC 29528-1954 chill AT coastal.edu http://ww2.coastal.edu/chill/chill.htm “I have never been sick. I don’t even know what it means to be sick. I hear other players say they have a cold. I just don’t know what it would feel like to have a cold. I never had one.” - Honus Wagner ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/se-odonata/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/se-odonata/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: se-odonata-digest AT yahoogroups.com se-odonata-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: se-odonata-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Fw: [Odonata-l] FW: Dragonfly program - speaker needed From: Joshua Stuart Rose <opihi AT mindspring.com> Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2010 20:17:09 -0500 (GMT-05:00) _______________________________________________ Odonata-l mailing list Odonata-l AT listhost.ups.edu https://mailweb.ups.edu/mailman/listinfo/odonata-l Subject: Re: Burgundy Bluet question ... update From: "Jan Roxburgh" <2jani AT comcast.net> Date: Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:12:21 -0500 Hi again all, I've been thinking of those caught in the winter storms. Hope those here who are affected are managing to stay warm. I know outages can be a concern since I've also lived in cold places, and through storms. I wanted to share about something... A couple of nice dragonfly people :o) have expressed how they feel some envy because I get to experience dragonflies while they themselves are dealing with cold temperatures and no odonates. I can understand the feeling. Just in case there is anyone here who feels worse about things when they read my updates, the first thing i'd like to say is that i am really happy to SHARE what I can through the groups photo section and by writing.. BTW, the kind feedback I've had from members so far is definitely appreciated. It helps me learn things so that i'm more useful. :o) Second thing is that I personally feel that wherever we live there are advantages and disadvantages. I've lived in quite a few different places, and FL was the one I liked the least by a long way! I've never handled heat and humidity well, and when we first arrived here, it was only about a month before Hurricane Katrina. It was the first hurricane my husband and I had experienced and it was really scary. (People became jittery here and started reliving Hurricane Andrew, which didn't help.) The damage in our area wasn't that bad from Katrina, but we watched in horror as it completely devastated other areas in the country. Hopefully none of you were caught in that. :o( Soon after came Hurricane Rita... and then Wilma... :o( After these three all in a row, I would have even walked back to Ashland, Oregon where I had lived, if I could have. Anyway, I finally realized that I had to make the most of things here because leaving wasn't really an option... and that's when I got busy with my camera. :o) Discovered that where I lived near a canal, there was a variety of interesting wildlife, and that this helped make up for other things, such as the humidity/heat, the fast and insane driving on the roads, the high crime-rate, and how a large proportion of the people here don't speak English. Being out in nature, and seeing how the creatures survive here has been very inspirational and healing. :o) Anyway, I just wanted to share this so you know me a bit better. I've appreciated getting to know a few of you. :o) Best wishes, Jan ----- Original Message ----- From: Dennis Paulson To: dragonflies Odonata Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 6:21 PM Subject: [se-odonata] Burgundy Bluet question Hello, all. I haven't heard much from this part of the country since it froze a while ago. I wish there were odonate people in southern Florida to learn how the extreme cold down there affected the usually diverse midwinter odonate populations. This question is about Burgundy Bluets, Enallagma dubium. Most of the members of the orange bluet group (Orange, Florida, Vesper, Golden, Cherry, Scarlet) are pale blue when immature, but I'm not so sure about Burgundy. I know it can be pale greenish at that time, but I'm not sure about blue. Does anyone have any photos or notes or recollections of blue immatures in this species? Thanks! Dennis ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net Subject: dragonfly update in Miami From: "Jan Roxburgh" <2jani AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:01:58 -0500 OK, I've studied the photos of what I saw a bit more, and looks like the yellow dragon is really a female or immature scarlet skimmer. I guess I will get the names right eventually. I'm just so glad they are here again, regardless of their labels. :o) Anyway, for anyone who feels like checking them out, I added a few snaps of them to the photos section. ~ jan ----- Original Message ----- From: Jan Roxburgh To: dragonflies Odonata Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 2:37 PM Subject: [se-odonata] dragonfly update in Miami The varieties of dragonflies is slowly increasing here again where I live in Miami, FL. Just aren't many individuals. That ultra cold weather for nearly 2 weeks really knocked them back. Just the damsels seemed to get through it ok. This morning I had a very relaxed blue dasher in my front flower garden. :o) Since it is quite windy outdoors today, maybe it was enjoying being somewhere sunny and sheltered. Have seen two or three Halloween Pennants over the last few days along the canal, and this afternoon along there, a beautiful golden- winged skimmer, I think it is. Weather forecast is for colder weather again in S. FL starting tonight... cold enough that they said in the report that the Homeless shelters will be opened. Hopefully it won't actually get that cold. Sending warm thoughts to everyone here who is experiencing rough winter weather. I hope the temperatures improve very soon. Subject: dragonfly update in Miami From: "Jan Roxburgh" <2jani AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:37:52 -0500 The varieties of dragonflies is slowly increasing here again where I live in Miami, FL. Just aren't many individuals. That ultra cold weather for nearly 2 weeks really knocked them back. Just the damsels seemed to get through it ok. This morning I had a very relaxed blue dasher in my front flower garden. :o) Since it is quite windy outdoors today, maybe it was enjoying being somewhere sunny and sheltered. Have seen two or three Halloween Pennants over the last few days along the canal, and this afternoon along there, a beautiful golden- winged skimmer, I think it is. Weather forecast is for colder weather again in S. FL starting tonight... cold enough that they said in the report that the Homeless shelters will be opened. Hopefully it won't actually get that cold. Sending warm thoughts to everyone here who is experiencing rough winter weather. I hope the temperatures improve very soon. Subject: SW Florida odes / Christmas - Lucifer damsels From: VLDELOACH AT aol.com Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 19:26:33 EST Sorry for the late post. We did make the trip to Captiva/Sanibel & Corkscrew Swamp the week before Christmas. Let me start by thanking Dennis again for his field notes - I pored over them before the trip. I was looking forward to photographing some odes but had zero expectations for butterflies. I was thrilled at the numbers of both. Corkscrew Swamp: We headed down to Corkscrew when we arrived. A lifer butterfly (Queen) and lifer dragonfly (Band-winged Dragonlet) welcomed us at the Visitor's Center. We found two Lucifer Damsels at the Ed Carlson bench, but they quickly hid and I was not able to spend more time there to get photos. The one I saw appeared very pale and its wings moved quickly giving it a "helicopter" appearance. It was below the rail and quickly disappeared behind vegetation. My husband spotted one flying and it also quickly disappeared. These were the only damsels we saw at the swamp. Many thanks to Dr. Mike Knight for taking us on a tour into the interior of the swamp, where we spotted more dragonflies & butterflies. Mike nabbed an obelisking Blue Dasher from its perch, which was impressive (photo on my site). Band-winged Dragonlets turned out to be the most common ode of the day, and Queen's the most common butterflies. We saw many more bugs flying than I was able to photograph and then ID: *Lucifer Damsels (Chrysobasis lucifer) - 2 *Band-winged Dragonlets (Erythrodiplax umbrata) - many *Great Pondhawk (Erythemis vesiculosa) - 1 Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) - 1 and the only dragonfly obelisking saddlebag sp. - several one persistent dragonfly dogged our golf cart - it was smaller than a saddlebags and we all agreed it had a wing patch Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island: Red Saddlebags (Tramea onusta) - 1 at same spot as summer AT Bailey Tract Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) - 3-4 AT Bailey Tract *Great Pondhawk - one along Wildlife Drive Scarlet Skimmer (Crocothemis servilia) - red male Rambur's Forktails ((Ischnura ramburii) - including a tandem pair, the only other damsels we saw saddlebags sp. - several flew over our car Captiva Island: Odes were hard to come by. The only ones in a pond on the golf course were Scarlet Skimmers: Scarlet Skimmers - 4 on the g.c. patrolling continuously including tandem pair Butterflies (if you'd like details drop me a note): *Queens *Brazilian Skippers Gulf Fritillaries Mangrove Buckeyes White Peacocks *Cassius Blue *Ceraunus Blue *Great Purple Hairstreak, probable yellow/sulphur sp. blue skipper sp. *lifers High temps were in the 80's. I'm curious if any of the above survived the recent freezing temperatures. Some photos have not been posted to my flickr site yet - drop me a note if you'd like to see specific shots. Vicki DeLoach Woodstock, GA _http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/_ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/) Subject: Re: Burgundy Bluet question From: "Jan Roxburgh" <2jani AT comcast.net> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 14:44:06 -0500 Hi Dennis, Thank you. Knowing that Meadowhawks are so rare will help me with faster identification attempts from now on. :o) Someone on the group here helped me with ID'ing a few of my photos awhile back, and I just checked to see if there was a yellow dragon that looked similar to the one today in amongst them... and sure enough, there is. Scarlet Skimmer, just like you said. :o) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/se-odonata/photos/album/1683530446/pic/836240461/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc I wonder about another yellow dragon I may have photographs of, a Wandering Glider? if that's even possible. I've a LOT of photos, so it would take awhile to find it. It had amazingly transparent almost completely invisible wings with the 4 yellow little edge tips. No saddle. ~Jan ----- Original Message ----- From: Dennis Paulson To: Jan Roxburgh Cc: dragonflies Odonata Sent: Saturday, February 06, 2010 2:08 PM Subject: Re: [se-odonata] Burgundy Bluet question Jan, There are no Yellow-legged Meadowhawks in southern Florida, in fact no meadowhawks at all except on the rare occasion of a visit by a migrant Variegated Meadowhawk (almost all records on the Gulf coast). I wouldn't be surprised if what you saw was a Scarlet Skimmer, males bright red and females and young males mostly yellow. They are common residents of southern Florida canals. Dennis On Feb 6, 2010, at 9:19 AM, Jan Roxburgh wrote: Very windy here today in Miami, with strong gusts, but I checked down by the canal anyway. Saw what looked like a yellow-legged meadowhawk. It didn't stay still enough for me to see details... just the shape and that it all yellow. ~Jan ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net Subject: Re: Burgundy Bluet question From: Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson AT comcast.net> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 11:08:30 -0800 Jan, There are no Yellow-legged Meadowhawks in southern Florida, in fact no meadowhawks at all except on the rare occasion of a visit by a migrant Variegated Meadowhawk (almost all records on the Gulf coast). I wouldn't be surprised if what you saw was a Scarlet Skimmer, males bright red and females and young males mostly yellow. They are common residents of southern Florida canals. Dennis On Feb 6, 2010, at 9:19 AM, Jan Roxburgh wrote: > Very windy here today in Miami, with strong gusts, but I checked down by the canal anyway. Saw what looked like a yellow-legged meadowhawk. It didn't stay still enough for me to see details... just the shape and that it all yellow. > > ~Jan ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net Subject: Re: Burgundy Bluet question From: "Jan Roxburgh" <2jani AT comcast.net> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 12:19:49 -0500 Very windy here today in Miami, with strong gusts, but I checked down by the canal anyway. Saw what looked like a yellow-legged meadowhawk. It didn't stay still enough for me to see details... just the shape and that it all yellow. ~Jan Subject: Re: Re: Burgundy Bluet question ... Dennis From: "Jan Roxburgh" <2jani AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 13:33:39 -0500 Amazed to see a lone amberwing at about 1.05 PM today. It flew briefly then settled on water weeds in the canal here in The Crossings, in Kendall, Miami. ~ jani >> > ----- Original Message ----- >> > From: Dennis Paulson >> > To: dragonflies Odonata >> > Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 6:21 PM >> > Subject: [se-odonata] Burgundy Bluet question >> > >> > >> > >> > Hello, all. >> > >> > I haven't heard much from this part of the country since it froze a >> > while ago. I wish there were odonate people in southern Florida to >> > learn how the extreme cold down there affected the usually diverse >> > midwinter odonate populations. >> > >> > This question is about Burgundy Bluets, Enallagma dubium. Most of the >> > members of the orange bluet group (Orange, Florida, Vesper, Golden, >> > Cherry, Scarlet) are pale blue when immature, but I'm not so sure about >> > Burgundy. I know it can be pale greenish at that time, but I'm not sure >> > about blue. Does anyone have any photos or notes or recollections of >> > blue immatures in this species? >> > >> > Thanks! >> > >> > Dennis >> > ----- >> > Dennis Paulson >> > 1724 NE 98 St. >> > Seattle, WA 98115 >> > 206-528-1382 >> > dennispaulson AT ... Subject: Re: Burgundy Bluet question From: "jani" <2jani AT comcast.net> Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:24:35 -0000 Hi Dennis, Glad if I can be of help. Actually, I was just out there again a few minutes ago, and I checked out all the usual places where the dragonflies hang out, and it remains strangely empty and silent. No dragon buzzing sounds. What I did discover today by the canal though is that the damsels have really taken over. I've never seen so many in this area, and although mainly the blue, there were all colors. Saw one blue pair mating. Some were dipping down and touching the water, or hanging out on the surface with the water weeds. They seemed less skittish than the day before. We have had some very heavy torrential style rain here, so I continue to be impressed by how these tiny little creatures keep on keeping on. Needless to say, I will post here immediately with considerable excitement when we see dragonflies here again. Best wishes, Jan --- In se-odonata AT yahoogroups.com, Dennis Paulson wrote: > > Thanks for the info, Jan. I'm glad you're still looking, but I suspected the news wouldn't b good. I think Rambur's Forktails are far and away the most likely damsels at the canal. They can survive just about anything. > > Dennis > > > On Feb 1, 2010, at 4:41 PM, Jan Roxburgh wrote: > > > Hi Dennis, > > I've been looking in our neighborhood in Kendall, Miami, for dragonflies, but haven't seen any since it froze. Just not the same out there without them around. :o( Amazingly I have seen an occasional damselfly though, down by our canal. Very skitish however, so I haven't been able to photograph them. There are honey bees and butterflies .... so I keep hoping that somehow some dragons are still around too. > > Best wishes, > > Jan > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Dennis Paulson > > To: dragonflies Odonata > > Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 6:21 PM > > Subject: [se-odonata] Burgundy Bluet question > > > > > > > > Hello, all. > > > > I haven't heard much from this part of the country since it froze a while ago. I wish there were odonate people in southern Florida to learn how the extreme cold down there affected the usually diverse midwinter odonate populations. > > > > This question is about Burgundy Bluets, Enallagma dubium. Most of the members of the orange bluet group (Orange, Florida, Vesper, Golden, Cherry, Scarlet) are pale blue when immature, but I'm not so sure about Burgundy. I know it can be pale greenish at that time, but I'm not sure about blue. Does anyone have any photos or notes or recollections of blue immatures in this species? > > > > Thanks! > > > > Dennis > > ----- > > Dennis Paulson > > 1724 NE 98 St. > > Seattle, WA 98115 > > 206-528-1382 > > dennispaulson AT ... > > > Subject: Re: Burgundy Bluet question From: Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 17:10:13 -0800 Thanks for the info, Jan. I'm glad you're still looking, but I suspected the news wouldn't b good. I think Rambur's Forktails are far and away the most likely damsels at the canal. They can survive just about anything. Dennis On Feb 1, 2010, at 4:41 PM, Jan Roxburgh wrote: > Hi Dennis, > I've been looking in our neighborhood in Kendall, Miami, for dragonflies, but haven't seen any since it froze. Just not the same out there without them around. :o( Amazingly I have seen an occasional damselfly though, down by our canal. Very skitish however, so I haven't been able to photograph them. There are honey bees and butterflies .... so I keep hoping that somehow some dragons are still around too. > Best wishes, > Jan > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Dennis Paulson > To: dragonflies Odonata > Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 6:21 PM > Subject: [se-odonata] Burgundy Bluet question > > > > Hello, all. > > I haven't heard much from this part of the country since it froze a while ago. I wish there were odonate people in southern Florida to learn how the extreme cold down there affected the usually diverse midwinter odonate populations. > > This question is about Burgundy Bluets, Enallagma dubium. Most of the members of the orange bluet group (Orange, Florida, Vesper, Golden, Cherry, Scarlet) are pale blue when immature, but I'm not so sure about Burgundy. I know it can be pale greenish at that time, but I'm not sure about blue. Does anyone have any photos or notes or recollections of blue immatures in this species? > > Thanks! > > Dennis > ----- > Dennis Paulson > 1724 NE 98 St. > Seattle, WA 98115 > 206-528-1382 > dennispaulson AT comcast.net > Subject: Re: Burgundy Bluet question From: "Jan Roxburgh" <2jani AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 19:41:46 -0500 Hi Dennis, I've been looking in our neighborhood in Kendall, Miami, for dragonflies, but haven't seen any since it froze. Just not the same out there without them around. :o( Amazingly I have seen an occasional damselfly though, down by our canal. Very skitish however, so I haven't been able to photograph them. There are honey bees and butterflies .... so I keep hoping that somehow some dragons are still around too. Best wishes, Jan ----- Original Message ----- From: Dennis Paulson To: dragonflies Odonata Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 6:21 PM Subject: [se-odonata] Burgundy Bluet question Hello, all. I haven't heard much from this part of the country since it froze a while ago. I wish there were odonate people in southern Florida to learn how the extreme cold down there affected the usually diverse midwinter odonate populations. This question is about Burgundy Bluets, Enallagma dubium. Most of the members of the orange bluet group (Orange, Florida, Vesper, Golden, Cherry, Scarlet) are pale blue when immature, but I'm not so sure about Burgundy. I know it can be pale greenish at that time, but I'm not sure about blue. Does anyone have any photos or notes or recollections of blue immatures in this species? Thanks! Dennis ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net Subject: Burgundy Bluet question From: Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 15:21:49 -0800 Hello, all. I haven't heard much from this part of the country since it froze a while ago. I wish there were odonate people in southern Florida to learn how the extreme cold down there affected the usually diverse midwinter odonate populations. This question is about Burgundy Bluets, Enallagma dubium. Most of the members of the orange bluet group (Orange, Florida, Vesper, Golden, Cherry, Scarlet) are pale blue when immature, but I'm not so sure about Burgundy. I know it can be pale greenish at that time, but I'm not sure about blue. Does anyone have any photos or notes or recollections of blue immatures in this species? Thanks! Dennis ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net Subject: Globe Skimmer migration - longest of any known insect From: Nate Dias <offshorebirder AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 07:32:29 -0800 (PST) The following web page has an interesting video of a lecture by Charles Anderson about the phenomenon. It includes comments on the attending raptors that follow the migration. http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2010/01/tedtalks_charles_anderson_disc.php For those who want to skip the introductory portion of the video lecture, the Dragonfly portion starts at 2:25 Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC Subject: Re: mystery ode From: Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 4 Jan 2010 19:35:24 -0800 Ali, I would call that a female Band-winged Dragonlet, Erythrodiplax umbrata. It's a common all-year species in peninsular Florida, Texas, and throughout the Neotropics. Dennis On Jan 4, 2010, at 6:56 PM, Ali Iyoob wrote: > [Attachment(s) from Ali Iyoob included below] > > Hi all, > > Here is an ode I saw in Sanibel, FL. Any ideas? > > Ali Iyoob > > > ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net Subject: mystery ode [2 Attachments] From: "Ali Iyoob" <aliiyoob AT nc.rr.com> Date: Mon, 4 Jan 2010 21:56:33 -0500 Hi all, Here is an ode I saw in Sanibel, FL. Any ideas? Ali Iyoob Subject: Re: Exuvia From: Chris Hill <chill AT coastal.edu> Date: Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:13:18 -0500 Hi Dennis, Larvae, exuviae, bring em on! I might have some I can send you. What resource are you going to use to identify them? I would say the best resource is to have a living breathing Steve Krotzer at your elbow, but after that it's a long step down. My wife, who is expert in these things, obtained a copy of a manual to aquatic insects of the Carolinas, and if you get serious about larvae and exuviae, I would recommend that highly if you can track one down. The big books (Dragonflies of North America by Needham, Westfall, May and the companion damselfly volume) are just TOO big. You end up going through a long complicated key to eliminate a bunch of species that wouldn't be here anyway. So the regional key rules! But maybe you're not into it at that semi-fanatical dissecting-scope- and-dichotomous-key level. Regardless, I'll try to scrape together some exuviae and send them. And once you start regularly checking the margins of ponds, bridge pilings by streams and rivers, etc., you'll start finding plenty yourself. Best, Chris On Dec 18, 2009, at 10:24 AM, Dennis Burnette wrote: > Ode Folks, > > I am looking for dragonfly exuvia. I am still a good ways down the > learning curve with Odonates, but I’m slowly learning. Switching > over to digital photography three years ago has really helped. I > would like to study dragonfly exuvia but haven’t found any so far. > If anyone on the list has some extras that they would be willing to > mail to me, I will gladly pay the mailing costs. It would be nice to > know the species but not necessary. > > Thanks, > > Dennis ************************************************************************ Christopher E. Hill Biology Department Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC 29528-1954 chill AT coastal.edu http://ww2.coastal.edu/chill/chill.htm "If pigs could vote, the man with the slop bucket would be elected swineherd every time, no matter how much slaughtering he did on the side." - Orson Scott Card ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/se-odonata/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/se-odonata/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: se-odonata-digest AT yahoogroups.com se-odonata-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: se-odonata-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Erythemis vesiculosa, Volusia County, FL [1 Attachment] From: Chuck Tague <kingrail AT mac.com> Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:48:31 -0500 Greetings, This morning I photographed a Great Pondhawk in Bulow Creek State Park, Volusia County, FL. This is about 50 miles north of the one I photographed at Merritt Island NWR on December 14. The habitat is an old pine plantation with many swampy patches and hog wallows. I was not specifically searching for odes. The only other dragonflies were two unidentified darners. Chuck Tague Holly Hill, Volusia County, FL Chuck Tague kingrail AT mac.com The Nature Observer is back. Read the Nature Observer blog at http://web.me.com/kingrail/Natureobserver/Blog/Blog.html Subject: solstice 09 greeting from marlene on my flickr site From: "visualmm" <visualmm AT usit.net> Date: Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:43:12 -0000 what a snow in e tenn. and all the complications with it. i hope all of you have power to your homes. whew. my greeting: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marlenemountain/ and ah the day after solstice. a full day of maybe an inch more [or less] of light. marlene Marlene Mountain http://www.marlenemountain.org http://www.flickr.com/photos/marlenemountain/ Subject: Exuvia From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:24:46 -0500 Ode Folks, I am looking for dragonfly exuvia. I am still a good ways down the learning curve with Odonates, but I¹m slowly learning. Switching over to digital photography three years ago has really helped. I would like to study dragonfly exuvia but haven¹t found any so far. If anyone on the list has some extras that they would be willing to mail to me, I will gladly pay the mailing costs. It would be nice to know the species but not necessary. Thanks, Dennis -- Dennis E. Burnette 7 Brownstone Lane Greensboro, NC 27410 (336) 299-4342 deburnette AT triad.rr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisburnette/ Subject: Re: Erythemis vesiculosa, Brevard Co.FL From: opihi AT mindspring.com Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:17:36 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Subject: Erythemis vesiculosa, Brevard Co.FL From: Chuck Tague <kingrail AT mac.com> Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:21:30 -0500 On December 14, I photographed this dragonfly at Merritt Island NWR. It was along the Oak Hammock Trail perched on shaded vegetation in a seasonally moist forest. I identified it as a Great Pondhawk, "Erythemis vesiculosa". The stigmas were much brighter green than my photo shows. Merritt Island is much farther north in the peninsula than the range maps I referenced indicate. Chuck Tague Volusia Co., FL Great Pondhawk, "Erythemis vesiculosa" Chuck Tague kingrail AT mac.com The Nature Observer is back. Read the Nature Observer blog at http://web.me.com/kingrail/Natureobserver/Blog/Blog.html Subject: Prelude to the Dragonfly Videos From: Martha Smith <scldrgnfly AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:02:49 -0500 I'll have to work on the Water/Soil/Sunlight issues with NCSU after they get back from Winter Break, but I am really excited about my first try at the video editing in preparation for working on my dragonfly videos! I happened to check on National Geographic's Everyday Explorers Web Page and my "Grasshopper Video" was selected for "Today's Featured Video!" Here's the link, but I just checked it tonight, 12/16/09, and so I do not know how long it will be there: http://everydayexplorers.nationalgeographic.com/ Thank you everyone. Martha Edwards Smith Subject: RFI - planning stages - MS/FL/GA - March 2010 From: "Troy" <alterna2627 AT swtexas.net> Date: Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:12:29 -0000 In March, I plan on a trip to the Apalachicola area of Florida to look for Odes (and herps). I know the area pretty well, and got quite a few species of Odes there in June of 2009, but am hoping to come up with some of the early season species in March. My dates will be March 13-20. I already have a few locations in mind to check out, but am looking for details/locations for a few specialty species. My targets: Sandhill Bluet - I think that the lakes in the sandy country in the Northern Apalachicola NF ought to be good for this one, but any tips/details . . . Purple Bluet . . . Florida Bluet . . . also, how to distinguish this from Orange Bluet Furtive Forktail . . . I have locale/habitat search image for this one from a locale in East Texas . . . Taper-tailed & Harlequin Darners - got lucky with finding a male Taper-tailed in June this past summer. but would be very keen on finding and getting better shots Clearlake Clubtail Westfall's Clubtail (if not too early) Cypress Clubtail Lancet Clubtail Banner Clubtail Twin-striped Clubtail (if not too early) Southeastern Snaketail - I'm going to look for it in MS on my way through . . . I also see a record for the western FL panhandle on OC . . . I'm guessing that specific locales are largely lacking, but habitat would be enough to have me looking Brown Spiketail - another I'll look for in MS . . . Twin-spotted Spiketail Say's Spiketail - I have one locale for this in a general sense in Florida (Torreya area), but more details would be appreciated Florida Cruiser - I think I can probably find this around the lakes in the Apalachicola NF, but should I focus on the larger or smaller lakes? Florida Baskettail . . . how to distinguish, not in books Sepia Baskettail . . . how to distinguish, not in books Robust Baskettail Slender Baskettail Elfin Skimmer - I know several really extensive sphagnum areas . . . but again, details on habitat or locales would be helpful I know its kind of a shopping list, but I thought I'd start gathering info early . . . I don't collect (unless a voucher is really necessary or I'm asked to) if that matters to folks (I have nothing against collecting, just don't do it much) but prefer to photo wild bugs . . . Troy Hibbitts Camp Wood, TX Subject: A few dragonflies in coastal SC From: Chris Hill <chill AT coastal.edu> Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2009 18:33:04 -0500 Although things are now very quiet here in Conway, down right on the coast of SC there are still fair numbers of Common Green Darners flying (saw about a dozen today in a visit to the Santee Delta area). Also saw something else - an unidentified Libellulid that was backlit and wouldn't land (though it looked too narrow-winged to be a Wandering Glider). I think the Anax junius persist in low numbers at least until New Years in most years on the coast here. Chris ************************************************************************ Christopher E. Hill Biology Department Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC 29528-1954 chill AT coastal.edu http://ww2.coastal.edu/chill/chill.htm "For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. - Benjamin Franklin Subject: ?'s About The Effects Of The Level Of The Water Table On Dragonfly Populations From: Martha Smith <scldrgnfly AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 22:56:11 -0500 Does anyone know how water tables work in specific areas? Each year, about this time, I begin to contemplate how many, if any dragonflies will populate our habitat during the next summer. In the past 2 years, the habitats that I watch have shrunk so because of our drought situation. I actually think it will be better in 2010, though. We seem to have had more steady rain periods, even if it hasn't been as much as past years. What I do worry about, is if our dragonfly population over the past years was an anomaly caused by the greatly increased rainfall due to the number of hurricanes in the 90's. During Floyd, we reached the 500 year water table. It would be a shame if this were so. A very interesting observation is this: Our trees are very tall, almost 80 feet, mostly gum, oak, pine and a huge magnolia. The very tops, where some of the dragonflies perch, had what appeared to be quite a few dead branches. In fact though, many of the branches must have just gone into a dormant state as a result of our severe droughts, because this year, with somewhat steadier rains, they have leafed out (after 2 years), making it a bit more difficult to film the dragonflies at their highest perches, where they seem to select the most optimal habitats for populating - or - they seek partners seen or sensed from great distances . How strange to be so positive about this, but after just allowing myself to film one habitat for over 10 years (for a controlled method of observation), I could almost say, I know the branches on my trees, in addition to the insects and animals that pass through, and those that stay a while. Actually, I only know the ones on which the dragonflies perch most frequently - and - I cheat a bit, since during that time, I have perused 100's of feet of film over and over again, frame by frame to see what I see. While we are all victims of the periodic "Optical Delusion," and, obviously, we all need to be careful of this, it's difficult to argue with frames that are matched perfectly with the exact - same - visual marks. Getting back to clarifying my point, could this period of great population be over? How often does a particular water table reach the 500 year level, and how close does it come to that level and for how long, before actually reaching it? And, how long does it take to go back down to a mean level? Have there been any studies on this? Thanks, Martha Edwards Smith Subject: Oding by kayak From: May <inkslinger AT bellsouth.net> Date: Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:11:51 -0600 I take my kayak across the street on a little trolley and put in on a canal. A few feet of paddling and I am on one of two creeks here in NW FL. Make sure your kayak has a wide beam. It shouldn't be long because you'll be going into some tight corners and I have to be maneuverable because there are alligators in my creek. My Swifty is wide and stable, and I could carry a net in it, or on it. Pretty darn perfect for my needs and also does fine on the bay. In shallow water, a sit aboard should be fine, too, as long as it isn't tippy. I don't collect. I photograph them with a Sony T1 in a Pelican case. You can see some of my photos on the creek at www.jpgmag.com/people/maziel. May in Florida's panhandle Subject: Re: Oding by kayak From: Steve Hummel <shummel AT iowatelecom.net> Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:32:47 -0600 Hi Lois, I've been using a kayak to collect odonates for about 4 years now. I carry a 21" BioQuip net with a 6' handle that I strap it to the kayak as I float rivers here in Iowa, then grab it when I stop along sand bars. I have a 12" collapsible net with a 6" handle that I've used along the edges of ponds and lakes by floating up next to the bank. I've occasionally gotten brave and used a 15" net with 4' handle on ponds and lakes near weed beds. I've managed to snag a few Anax junius and some libellulids with that from the kayak. I have to admit that was pretty exciting as I thought I was going over a couple of times, but it worked. Steve Steve Hummel shummel AT iowatelecom.net On Nov 30, 2009, at 10:19 PM, Lois Stacey wrote: I've bought a kayak for the express purpose of getting to those areas of prime ode habitat that I can't get to otherwise. I'm not sure that my net is going to fit in the boat though. Do any of you ode by kayak and if so what, if any, kind of net do you use? I'm thinking of using it primarily for damselflies (blind sweeping most likely). I really don't want to end up in the water! Lois Stacey North Augusta, SC (Aiken Cnty) www.augustaaikenaudubon.org Subject: Oding by kayak From: "Lois Stacey" <croakie AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:19:01 -0500 I've bought a kayak for the express purpose of getting to those areas of prime ode habitat that I can't get to otherwise. I'm not sure that my net is going to fit in the boat though. Do any of you ode by kayak and if so what, if any, kind of net do you use? I'm thinking of using it primarily for damselflies (blind sweeping most likely). I really don't want to end up in the water! Lois Stacey North Augusta, SC (Aiken Cnty) www.augustaaikenaudubon.org Subject: Shadow Darner From: "tom howe" <blountbirder AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:31:19 -0500 Blount Co., TN Nov 22, 2009 On a warm day in the 60s I observed and photographed a Shadow Darner at a pasture's edge in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mtns Nat Park. It was cruising at the edge of mature trees but alighting in young Virginia Pines. The nearest water included sewage ponds at about 100yds and a stream at c. 200yds. I could not confirm a late date for Tennessee and would like some help on that. Thank You, Tom Howe Alcoa, TN Subject: Re: Aeshna umbrosa From: Mary Ann Todd <Dma3 AT aol.com> Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:51:43 -0500 My late date for the Washington DC area is Nov 21, 1995, a female at Battery Kemble park in the city. Dave Czaplak Germantown MD On Nov 29, 2009, at 1:01 PM, "paul" wrote: > Today Nov. 29 at Pocahontas SP, Chesterfield Co., VA, I observed a > single Aeshna umbrosa (Shadow Darner). This seems to be a late date > for Virginia. Steve Roble (unpub., 2006) lists Nov. 8 as the > previous record, so this is three weeks later! I didn't have a net > with me which is too bad as it would have been an easy catch. But > while perched it was very wary, so I only managed a poorly focused > handheld zoom shot. No other odonates seen. > > Paul Bedell > Richmond > > Subject: Aeshna umbrosa From: "paul" <pbedell AT comcast.net> Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:01:41 -0000 Today Nov. 29 at Pocahontas SP, Chesterfield Co., VA, I observed a single Aeshna umbrosa (Shadow Darner). This seems to be a late date for Virginia. Steve Roble (unpub., 2006) lists Nov. 8 as the previous record, so this is three weeks later! I didn't have a net with me which is too bad as it would have been an easy catch. But while perched it was very wary, so I only managed a poorly focused handheld zoom shot. No other odonates seen. Paul Bedell Richmond Subject: SW Florida odes in December? From: VLDELOACH AT aol.com Date: Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:47:51 EST We're thinking about a trip to SW Florida in December - Captiva/Sanibel/Corkscrew Swamp. What can we expect as far as odes? Vicki DeLoach Woodstock GA _http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/_ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/) Subject: Re: Citrine Forktails From: Hal White <halwhite AT udel.edu> Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:27:24 -0500 Vicki, I saw about 20 on the same day (11/21/09) here in northern Delaware with the temperature in the mid 50's F. That is my latest record for DE. The habitat is a flooded sedge meadow near the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal close to the Maryland state line. It is populated by 1000's of Ischnura hastata in the summer. Virtually all of the ones I saw were in a small part of the meadow at the north end that is lined by an arc of pine trees that caught the sun and blocked the wind. Sympetrum vicinum (Autumn Meadowhawk) was also present near the ground on south facing slopes in the sun. Hal White Newark, DE VLDELOACH AT aol.com wrote: > > > After spotting a Citrine Forktail (/Ischnura hastata/) recently I was > able to relocate 4 on 11-21-09 at a flooded, low-lying meadow near us > where the Blue-faced Meadowhawks were. We have not had a hard frost > here yet. I've seen very few Citrine's this season and was surprised to > see these. > > Vicki DeLoach > Woodstock GA > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/ > > > Subject: Citrine Forktails From: VLDELOACH AT aol.com Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:40:46 EST After spotting a Citrine Forktail (Ischnura hastata) recently I was able to relocate 4 on 11-21-09 at a flooded, low-lying meadow near us where the Blue-faced Meadowhawks were. We have not had a hard frost here yet. I've seen very few Citrine's this season and was surprised to see these. Vicki DeLoach Woodstock GA _http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/_ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/) Subject: Re: Just when I take my net and binocs out of the car for the winter... From: Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson AT comcast.net> Date: Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:22:05 -0800 Sharon, I don't know the temperature below which an odonate's flight muscles will fail to function. There is a fair literature on thermoregulation, and it probably can be teased out of that. Probably stuff in Corbet's big book, and Mike May probably has it in his head. I am fairly sure it varies, however, with the species and latitude. I think that northern odonates can fly at a lower range of temps than southern ones. In quite a bit of field work in the last few years when I had cars that gave me the outside temperature, I found that many species are active as low as 60° F on sunny days, but not much activity when it falls into the 50s. But larger "flier" dragonflies (aeshnids in particular) can warm themselves up by whirring their wings until their thorax warms enough for flight, so they can be active at lower temps than libellulids that just have to sit there and warm up when the sun shines. It would be interesting if more of us kept temperature records for our field surveys. Years ago I conducted a number of all-day dragonfly censuses at single bodies of water, and I can only say that it was very interesting and should be repeated for more areas and habitats. It's like a birding "big sit," but with much more valuable info coming out of it. Best, of course, not to sit but to walk a predetermined census route at the waterside, say once/hour, and count all odes encountered. You can get some great graphs of activity, certainly not the same for all species, not even for both sexes of the same species. Dennis On Nov 24, 2009, at 6:36 AM, SL Brown wrote: > Chris, you take your binos out of the car for winter??? > > Kidding aside . . . despite a nor'easter blowing through on our reserved > weekend for camping (RV, fortunately, not tent) at the beach, an > unidentified flying ode scudded past me in the diminished winds yesterday > morning. It was golden/brownish but too big and shaped wrong for a Wandering > Glider; it was not big enough and was the wrong color for a Common Green > Darner - those being the 2 species I've seen latest around here. My mind was > also in winter sparrow mode - completely out of "ode mode" . . . so I > reacted way late - brain registering what I'd seen, above, an instant > _after_ the dragonfly f/blew past. > > But maybe someone knows the answer to the question it left me wondering > about. Is there a temperature below which an ode's flight muscles cease to > function? I think it was in the low to mid-50s, but the wind made it feel > much colder. > > Sharon L. Brown > http://SLBrownPhoto.com > > ---------------------------------------------------------- > > "I go to nature to be soothed and healed, > and to have my senses put in tune once more." > > John Burroughs > > ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net Subject: Re: Just when I take my net and binocs out of the car for the winter... From: "SL Brown" <ictinia AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:36:15 -0500 Chris, you take your binos out of the car for winter??? Kidding aside . . . despite a nor'easter blowing through on our reserved weekend for camping (RV, fortunately, not tent) at the beach, an unidentified flying ode scudded past me in the diminished winds yesterday morning. It was golden/brownish but too big and shaped wrong for a Wandering Glider; it was not big enough and was the wrong color for a Common Green Darner - those being the 2 species I've seen latest around here. My mind was also in winter sparrow mode - completely out of "ode mode" . . . so I reacted way late - brain registering what I'd seen, above, an instant _after_ the dragonfly f/blew past. But maybe someone knows the answer to the question it left me wondering about. Is there a temperature below which an ode's flight muscles cease to function? I think it was in the low to mid-50s, but the wind made it feel much colder. Sharon L. Brown http://SLBrownPhoto.com --------------------------------------------------------------- "I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in tune once more." John Burroughs Subject: Just when I take my net and binocs out of the car for the winter... From: Chris Hill <chill AT coastal.edu> Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:13:08 -0500 Still a few things around here in Conway, SC. Friday I visited a little retention pond, which was swarming with Familiar Bluets (I counted 58 of them) and had one Wandering Glider cruising around. Saturday I went tromping in a saltmarsh in search of sparrows (found 'em) and saw a BLUE-FACED MEADOWHAWK (yay, been looking for one for years, finally stumbled across one). They're already on the Horry County list from a collection in the 1930s, but I hadn't been able to find one until now. And a Blue Dasher. And later Saturday something else flew by me that was none of the above. So that's at least 5 species without hardly trying. Chris ************************************************************************ Christopher E. Hill Biology Department Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC 29528-1954 chill AT coastal.edu http://ww2.coastal.edu/chill/chill.htm "What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork." - Pearl Bailey Subject: late Ruby Meadowhawks From: "gljeinwv AT juno.com" <gljeinwv@juno.com> Date: Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:52:36 GMT I had more Ruby Meadowhawks today. This is really late for here (North-central WV at 1400 feet). Gary Felton - Kingwood, WV ____________________________________________________________ Doctorate Degrees Online Boost your career with an online doctoral degree. Enroll today! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=kizoWsk2dF05uGVHOI2ZaAAAJ1D0ry6jsV46pL4R2H83y6S-AAQAAAAFAAAAAJEqtT4AAAMlAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAyOQAAAAA= Subject: Re: Warning letter from Bioquip From: "MARIE HEMEON" <mariekevinhemeon AT msn.com> Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:32:13 -0500 I called Bioquip to see what was up. I think people should know it was only a problem (according to the woman I spoke to) if you placed an online order. I had done a phone order and am safe. I would take it mail orders are safe too but, it wouldn't hurt to call and make sure before you go through the hassle. Luck, Kevin ----- Original Message ----- From: azurebluet To: Odonata-1 List ; SE Odonate List ; NE Ode List ; TexOdes AT yahoogroups.com ; nw_odonata AT yahoogroups.com ; CalOdes AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 9:50 PM Subject: [NEodes] Warning letter from Bioquip Apologies for cross posting. I received a letter today from Bioquip Products stating that their web server had been compromised and that some party had gained access to customer names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and most importantly, credit card numbers. Bioquip states that they do not have or keep records of credit card security codes, social security numbers, dates of birth, or driver's license information so that information was not taken. The breach occurred on or about September 14, 2009. The letter is dated October 19, 2009. I assume they are sending this letter to all of their customers but I thought it would be prudent to spread the warning. The letter advises customers to close their current credit card account and check their credit card statements and credit reports for fraudulent activity. The world we live in. Best, Ed Lam Subject: meadowhawks From: "Ali Iyoob" <aliiyoob AT nc.rr.com> Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:23:54 -0500 Today, I had 3 Blue-faced Meadowhawks and 1 Autumn. Ali Iyoob Subject: Re: Warning letter from Bioquip From: Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:52:39 -0800 No wonder you have so many e-mail addresses, Marion! The last stuff I purchased from BioQuip was over five years ago, and I didn't get a letter. It's interesting that individuals of those four odonate species are still emerging. There are some species in which the larvae are in last instar in the fall, and they just keep emerging until low temperatures put a stop to it. They are very different from the "spring" species such as Blue Corporals, Springtime Darners, Lancet Clubtails, and many, many others that are in last instar in the fall but are in a state of diapause (arrested development) that prevents them from emerging until water temps begin to rise in the following spring. Dennis On Nov 17, 2009, at 8:03 PM, Marion Dobbs wrote: > I also received this letter, and I've not made a purchase from Bioquip in almost two years, so it seems they're doing a good job of notifying customers. Let me put in a, probably inappropriate, plug for utilizing one time use credit card numbers, in effect aliases, if your card provider offers that service. I do this with all my online purchases and also use an alias email address for the same reason. It can be closed at any time if a problem occurs. Many ISP's offer this service as well. > > > As Ed days...The world we live in. But we have to learn to live in it. > > Now for some odonate content. Here in northwest Georgia, I had a few odes still flying as of this past weekend, and in good numbers, at an old fish hatchery in Floyd Co.: > > Citrine Forktail (Ischnura hastata) > Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita) > Blue-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum) > Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) > > Many of the forktails were tenerals. Quite a few of the meadowhawks were fresh. > > Marion Dobbs > Rome (Floyd Co.) GA > spreadwing AT mac.com > pond_damsel AT comcast.net > http://www.mamomi.net > http://ponddamsel.phanfare.com > http://mariondobbs.smugmug.com/ > . > > ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net Subject: Re: Warning letter from Bioquip From: Marion Dobbs <spreadwing AT mac.com> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:03:03 -0500 I also received this letter, and I've not made a purchase from Bioquip in almost two years, so it seems they're doing a good job of notifying customers. Let me put in a, probably inappropriate, plug for utilizing one time use credit card numbers, in effect aliases, if your card provider offers that service. I do this with all my online purchases and also use an alias email address for the same reason. It can be closed at any time if a problem occurs. Many ISP's offer this service as well. As Ed days...The world we live in. But we have to learn to live in it. Now for some odonate content. Here in northwest Georgia, I had a few odes still flying as of this past weekend, and in good numbers, at an old fish hatchery in Floyd Co.: Citrine Forktail (Ischnura hastata) Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita) Blue-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum) Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) Many of the forktails were tenerals. Quite a few of the meadowhawks were fresh. Marion Dobbs Rome (Floyd Co.) GA spreadwing AT mac.com pond_damsel AT comcast.net http://www.mamomi.net http://ponddamsel.phanfare.com http://mariondobbs.smugmug.com/ "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few." _Shunryu Suzuki On Nov 17, 2009, at 9:50 PM, azurebluet wrote: > > Apologies for cross posting. > > I received a letter today from Bioquip Products stating that their > web server had been compromised and that some party had gained > access to customer names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail > addresses and most importantly, credit card numbers. Bioquip states > that they do not have or keep records of credit card security > codes, social security numbers, dates of birth, or driver's license > information so that information was not taken. The breach occurred > on or about September 14, 2009. The letter is dated October 19, > 2009. I assume they are sending this letter to all of their > customers but I thought it would be prudent to spread the warning. > The letter advises customers to close their current credit card > account and check their credit card statements and credit reports > for fraudulent activity. > > The world we live in. > > Best, > Ed Lam > > Subject: Warning letter from Bioquip From: azurebluet <azurebluet AT aol.com> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:50:14 -0500 Apologies for cross posting. I received a letter today from Bioquip Products stating that their web server had been compromised and that some party had gained access to customer names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and most importantly, credit card numbers. Bioquip states that they do not have or keep records of credit card security codes, social security numbers, dates of birth, or driver's license information so that information was not taken. The breach occurred on or about September 14, 2009. The letter is dated October 19, 2009. I assume they are sending this letter to all of their customers but I thought it would be prudent to spread the warning. The letter advises customers to close their current credit card account and check their credit card statements and credit reports for fraudulent activity. The world we live in. Best, Ed Lam Subject: Warning letter from Bioquip From: azurebluet <azurebluet AT aol.com> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:50:14 -0500 Apologies for cross posting. I received a letter today from Bioquip Products stating that their web server had been compromised and that some party had gained access to customer names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and most importantly, credit card numbers. Bioquip states that they do not have or keep records of credit card security codes, social security numbers, dates of birth, or driver's license information so that information was not taken. The breach occurred on or about September 14, 2009. The letter is dated October 19, 2009. I assume they are sending this letter to all of their customers but I thought it would be prudent to spread the warning. The letter advises customers to close their current credit card account and check their credit card statements and credit reports for fraudulent activity. The world we live in. Best, Ed Lam Subject: Warning letter from Bioquip From: azurebluet <azurebluet AT aol.com> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:50:14 -0500 Apologies for cross posting. I received a letter today from Bioquip Products stating that their web server had been compromised and that some party had gained access to customer names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and most importantly, credit card numbers. Bioquip states that they do not have or keep records of credit card security codes, social security numbers, dates of birth, or driver's license information so that information was not taken. The breach occurred on or about September 14, 2009. The letter is dated October 19, 2009. I assume they are sending this letter to all of their customers but I thought it would be prudent to spread the warning. The letter advises customers to close their current credit card account and check their credit card statements and credit reports for fraudulent activity. The world we live in. Best, Ed Lam [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Warning letter from Bioquip From: azurebluet <azurebluet AT aol.com> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:50:14 -0500 Apologies for cross posting. I received a letter today from Bioquip Products stating that their web server had been compromised and that some party had gained access to customer names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and most importantly, credit card numbers. Bioquip states that they do not have or keep records of credit card security codes, social security numbers, dates of birth, or driver's license information so that information was not taken. The breach occurred on or about September 14, 2009. The letter is dated October 19, 2009. I assume they are sending this letter to all of their customers but I thought it would be prudent to spread the warning. The letter advises customers to close their current credit card account and check their credit card statements and credit reports for fraudulent activity. The world we live in. Best, Ed Lam Subject: Late season odes of the petite variety From: Marion Dobbs <spreadwing AT mac.com> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:42:10 -0500 I went this past Sunday, the 8th, to a local lake (30 ac) and adjacent pond (5 ac) in Floyd Co., NW GA, to observe the arriving wintering waterfowl. It was a cool but sunny day, the last of several. There were hundreds of winged things floating on the water and a few much smaller, daintier, winged things on or near the shore. I walked about 25 yds of pond shoreline and counted 33 Familiar Bluets (Enallagma civile). At the lake, from where I stood scoping the ducks, I observed a few more of this species and also a couple of Rambur's Forktails (Ischnura ramburii). Interestingly, I never see the latter species at the small pond. Marion Dobbs Rome (Floyd Co.) GA spreadwing AT mac.com pond_damsel AT comcast.net http://www.mamomi.net http://ponddamsel.phanfare.com http://mariondobbs.smugmug.com/ "Nobody climbs mountains for scientific reasons. Science is used to raise money for the expeditions, but you really climb for the hell of it."_Edmund Hillary Subject: meadowhawks and other late odes From: VLDELOACH AT aol.com Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:53:35 EST This past weekend at Huie/Newman Wetlands, south of Atlanta, the only odes flying were a few Fragile Forktails (Ischnura posita) and one male Common Green Darner (Anax junius). I last saw our Blue-faced Meadowhawks (Sympetrum ambiguum) at the end of October, but we haven't had a hard frost yet so I bet they're still around. I was surprised to see photos of meadowhawks on Flickr that were taken this week in New York and Maine. As for butterflies, more species are still flying but not many. A few Cloudless Sulphurs and Gulf Fritillaries are still around, and Common Checkered-skippers have increased the past month. I saw lots of Checkered-skippers at Huie along with Fiery skippers and one late Variegated Fritillary. Vicki DeLoach Woodstock GA _http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/_ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/) Subject: late odes and leps From: "gljeinwv AT juno.com" <gljeinwv@juno.com> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 14:49:22 GMT Any ode at this elevation and latitude in November is noteworthy. So, I was pleased to see a few few Ruby Meadowhawks (sympetrum rubicundulum) this past weekend. A few Clouded Sulphurs (colias philodice) were flying as well. The temps reached into the 60s. Gary Felton - Kingwood, WV (north-central Allegheny Mtns.) ____________________________________________________________ Wholesale Hardwood Floors Never pay retail again. Wholesale prices on all hardwood flooring! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=DpwawlExDhv2F07FDARLsQAAJ1D0ry6jsV46pL4R2H83y6S-AAQAAAAFAAAAAKMXpD4AAAMlAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANlcwAAAAA= Subject: Late season odonates in Early County GA 11/4/2009 From: "Giff Beaton" <giffbeaton AT mindspring.com> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 08:55:04 -0500 Hi again everyone- On Wednesday 11/4 I duplicated the trip that Steve Krotzer and I made into sw GA on 10/8, just seeing what might still be flying with the fairly warm temps we have been having. The day was mostly sunny with highs around 77F. I again started at Kolomoki Mounds State Park, Early Co, GA (KMSP). I checked the lakes, and a stream area below the big dam on Lake Kolomoki. I also went to Williams Bluff Preserve (WBP), the Nature Conservancy property without public access, and the Ophiogomphus site. There are several streams here, a small almost permanent pond good for spreadwings, and a huge almost permanent cypress pond. I had 16 species for the day, as follows: Hetaerina titia (Smoky Rubyspot): 1, KMSP Lestes australis (Southern Spreadwing): about 50 at WBP, mostly in pairs Lestes vidua (Carolina Spreadwing): about 40, numbers way down from last month, and now mostly singles so they do appear to have been ahead of the australis, at least for this site this year. Argia fumipennis fumipennis (Variable Dancer): 5, both sites Argia sedula (Blue-ringed Dancer): 7, KMSP Enallagma cardenium (Purple Bluet, used to be E coecum): just 1 left, WBP Enallagma doubledayi (Atlantic Bluet): about 40, WBP Ischnura hastata (Citrine Forktail): 15, WBP Ischnura kellicotti (Lilypad Forktail): 5, inc two pairs, KMSP Ischnura posita (Fragile Forktail): 2, WBP Anax junius (Common Green Darner), 40+. About half and half males patrolling and pairs in tandem with still some ovipositing. Erythrodiplax minuscula (Little Blue Dragonlet): 8, both sites Miathyria marcella (Hyacinth Glider): 1, KMSP. At a lake with no know hyacinth, a county record. Orthemis ferruginea (Roseate Skimmer): about 12, both sites Pachydiplax longipennis (Blue Dasher): about 15, WBP Tramea carolina (Carolina Saddlebags): about 10, WBP Pretty nice list for this late in the season, but won't be many of these around much longer. Giff Beaton Marietta GA Subject: Re: Fw: Lost Hiker From: opihi AT mindspring.com Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 20:16:51 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Subject: Re: Fw: Lost Hiker From: Alex Netherton <danetherton AT charter.net> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:21:45 -0500 Subject: Fw: Lost Hiker From: opihi AT mindspring.com Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 20:47:38 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Hey all - not relevant to odonata, but urgent enough to share via this list anyway; please pass around to anyone who might be able to help... JSR -----Forwarded Message----- >From: Carol >Sent: Nov 3, 2009 2:29 PM >To: natural-history AT duke.edu >Subject: Lost Hiker > > We lost a hiker who belongs to Triangle Hiking and Outdoor club over >the weekend. He was last heard from Sat out in TN. A missing person >report has been filed. Please be on the lookout for the following: - A >Green Nissan Pickup truck with NC plates (Appalachian Trail specialty >plate with license "TENT") - John is 5'7" 135 pounds and is 46 years >old. He has no known acute medical problems If you come across the >vehicle, please notify the authorities ASAP. Right now, the first >priority is to locate his vehicle, so that we know where to search. >Please forward this message to anyone you know in the eastern TN, >western NC, northern GA, northwestern SC regions. Thank you for your >assistance If someone wants to broadcast onto Twitter or Facebook, >please use this message : "Missing Hiker, 2 days overdue, looking for >GREEN Nissan pickup truck with NC license plate Appalachian State >Specialty plate "TENT", call authorities if you spot the vehicle ASAP" > >Thanks for any help... Carol Ray Subject: Still a few odes around in Northern SC From: Chris Hill <chill AT coastal.edu> Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:41:50 -0400 Checked a couple ponds near me in the beautiful weather yesterday: Enallagma civile, Familiar Bluet: 23 Ischnura hastata, Citrine Forktail: 1 Ischnura posita, Fragile Forktail: 1 Ischnura ramburii, Rambur's Forktail: 17 Erythemis simplicicollis, Common Pondhawk: 1 Orthemis ferruginea, Roseate Skimmer: 2 Perithemis tenera, Eastern Amberwing: 1 Notes: - both ponds are ordinary retention ponds, and the list reflects that. I haven't visited any of the 'nice' sites near me lately. - the fall burst of familiar bluets and Rambur's forktails is standard fare. - The pondhawk was the first I've seen in a month or so (not that I've been looking much). Pondhawks usually disappear here around 1 October, but this one must have emerged late. - in the last year or two I've seen the occasional Common Green Darner as late as mid-December, so the flying ode season is far from completely over, but I thought the above was still pretty good at this date for about 20 minutes of looking. The local weather has been just spectacularly nice recently. CH ************************************************************************ Christopher E. Hill Biology Department Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC 29528-1954 chill AT coastal.edu http://ww2.coastal.edu/chill/chill.htm Brevity is the soul of ambiguity. - H. Curl Subject: Hyacinth Glider (Miathyria marcella) in Richmond County, GA From: "croakie1" <croakie AT comcast.net> Date: Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:54:49 -0000 Anne Waters and I were birding in the rain this morning (having a pretty good day, too). Finally the rain stopped and the sun came out and it wasn't minutes later that insect activity picked up. One of the very first bugs we saw was what I initially thought was an immature Carolina Saddlebags but then I realized it was a little small and awfully yellow to be that species. It finally lit and sure enough, it was my second (but really first!) choice, a Hyacinth Glider(Miathyria marcella). This is the first one I've seen and a new county record. There were still a few pondhawks around though not many but we did see quite a few Roseate Skimmers (Orthemis ferruginea) around. Lois Stacey North Augusta, SC (Aiken Cnty) Subject: Southwestern GA Odonates on 10/8/2009 From: "Giff Beaton" <giffbeaton AT mindspring.com> Date: Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:06:31 -0400 Hi everyone- On Thursday 10/8 Steve Krotzer and I made a brief foray into sw GA and sw AL looking for odonates, and though we didn't find anything rare we did find some fairly late individuals and other interesting things. Among other things, we were looking for Lestes forficula (Rainpool Spreadwing), which has been spreading east from TX for the last couple of years. We did not find any. Here are some of the highlights of the day, which was cool and cloudy to start and then sunny and hot in the afternoon: Kolomoki Mounds State Park, Early Co, GA (before Steve arrived). This park has two nice big lakes, and a stream area below the big dam on Lake Kolomoki, all are pretty good for odonates at times. 14 species, notable: 3 Argia bipunctulata (Seepage Dancer) About 3 weeks later than my previous late dates Williams Bluff Preserve, also Early Co, a Nature Conservancy property without public access, and the site of some intriguing Ophiogomphus we have been working on the last few years. They may end up being O australis (Southern Snaketail) but we don't know for sure yet. There are several streams here, a small almost permanent pond good for spreadwings, and a huge almost permanent cypress pond. We had 20 species here, notable: Over 250 Lestes vidua (Carolina Spreadwing), which is a ridiculous number. We both commented that this is more than we have seen ever, combined. There were a few L australis (Southern Spreadwing) mixed in, but they were mostly fresh and away from the water, which we speculate means they are a bit behind the vidua emergence-wise. 25 Enallagma cardenium (Purple Bluet, used to be E coecum) This is a nice number for the SE away from FL. 50+ Anax junius (Common Green Darner) mostly in tandem with lots of ovipositing. It's late, but not too late for A longipes (Comet Darner), but we didn't see any, which is surprising given the size of this pond and the numbers of junius. We also hit a couple of other ponds looking for spreadwings, finding nothing much, and went over to Chattahoochee State Park in Houston Co AL, right across the border. Here we found lots of common stuff, and a few each of Enallagma signatum and pollutum (Orange and Florida Bluets). We ended up the day with around 30 species, which isn't bad for October. Giff Beaton Marietta GA Subject: Re: Meadowhawk From: Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson AT comcast.net> Date: Thu, 8 Oct 2009 19:19:55 -0700 Alex, We don't know how it got introduced, although larvae (or eggs?) in with aquatic plants for nursery use seems to be much the most likely way. It turns out that the species is all over the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico at least), and it is very likely it was first introduced to one or more of those islands, then spread elsewhere, including into Florida. It's not known to have any effects on the local fauna, not that anyone is really looking carefully at that. But there have been no extinctions or declines in any local odonates. Who knows about local mayflies, etc.? The Florida peninsula is getting filled up with neotropical species coming in under their own power, so there are a lot of changes in the fauna going on at once that may be more significant than the Scarlet Skimmer introduction. Dennis On Oct 8, 2009, at 9:36 AM, Alex Netherton wrote: > How did Scarlet Skimmer get introduced from Asia? Do they cause any > problems, as many introductions do? > Alex Netherton > Asheville, NC > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carolinamountainbirding/ > http://blueridgediscovery.blogspot.com > > > Dennis Paulson wrote: >> >> Hi, Jan. >> >> >> Those yellow dragons are female and/or immature Scarlet Skimmers. >> This is the only introduced (from Asia) species of odonate in North >> America. The males are gorgeous scarlet red. In fact I see you also >> photographed a male. I suppose the reason the yellow ones just >> turned up, is because they are just emerging from somewhere nearby. >> >> Both of your damelflies are Rambur's Forktails, the orange one a >> female. Dragonfly 0012 is a male Metallic Pennant. Dragon blue is a >> male Blue Dasher. Dragon yellow stripes is a young male Band-winged >> Dragonlet. Dragonfly pose is a female Blue Dasher. >> >> There are no meadowhawks in southern Florida (except for the rare >> visitation of migrant Variegated Meadowhawks, usually along the >> Gulf coast in the winter). >> >> Dennis >> >> On Oct 5, 2009, at 8:55 AM, Jan Roxburgh wrote: >> >>> >>> Just had a lot of these yellow dragons turn up to keep the Halloween >>> Pennants and a few others company... female saffronwinged >>> meadowhawk maybe? >>> They look quite amazing when flying around and catching the >>> sunlight... like >>> gleaming gold. This one posed long enough for a photo. Will add to >>> Jan >>> photo album on the group. >>> >> >> ----- >> Dennis Paulson >> 1724 NE 98 St. >> Seattle, WA 98115 >> 206-528-1382 >> dennispaulson AT comcast.net >> >> >> >> >> >> >> No virus found in this incoming message. >> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >> Version: 8.5.420 / Virus Database: 270.14.4/2417 - Release Date: >> 10/06/09 06:50:00 >> >> ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net Subject: Re: [NCOdonates] NC mystery damsel photo From: Alex Netherton <danetherton AT charter.net> Date: Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:10:04 -0400 Subject: Re: Meadowhawk From: Alex Netherton <danetherton AT charter.net> Date: Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:36:34 -0400 Subject: Still a few odes in NE Georgia From: Marion Dobbs <spreadwing AT mac.com> Date: Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:06:32 -0400 I visited a small marshy area near Hightower Creek, Towns Co., in the "mountains" of NE Georgia on back-to-back days, with different weather conditions each day, and found a little, very little, bit of activity. Oct 6 - mostly overcast, 70F Slender Spreadwing (Lestes rectangularis) 1 Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita) 1 Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa) 1 Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) 1 Oct 7 - sunny, 77F Slender Spreadwing (Lestes rectangularis) 5 Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita) 4 Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa) 1 Blue-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum) 7 Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) 1 Marion Dobbs Rome (Floyd Co.) GA spreadwing AT mac.com pond_damsel AT comcast.net http://www.mamomi.net http://ponddamsel.phanfare.com http://mariondobbs.smugmug.com/ Subject: NC mystery damsel photo From: "birdranger" <cbockhahn4 AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 19:10:11 -0400 Wake County, NC, any ID help appreciated Thanks! The link to #1 is www.flickr.com/photos/longspur/3691233243 . ALi Subject: Ovipositing CGD; migrants From: VLDELOACH AT aol.com Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 13:30:19 EDT We observed a Common Green Darner ovipositing up in the N. GA mountains (Towns Co.) on September 25: _http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/3968347693/_ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/3968347693/) After I took these shots, she flew to the middle of the pond and began ovipositing there, only to be almost immediately taken by a fish or turtle. On that date there were still a number of Swamp Spreadwings at the pond, a few summer odes such as Widow Skimmers, and 4 male Autumn Meadowhawks - which we had not seen there earlier in the season. The only other odes I've seen recently have been Blue-faced Meadowhawks (tandem shot from 9-24 below), Common Green Darners away from water and presumed migrants, a resting Wandering Glider, and one Shadow Darner (ID'd by Glenn Corbiere (thanks!)): _http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/3950822457/_ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/3950822457/) The Blue-faced Meadowhawks were at their favored wet meadow in our subdivision as recently as 10-3 obelisking on a cool sunny day as nearby butterflies struggled to warm their wings. Vicki DeLoach Woodstock, GA In a message dated 9/28/2009 11:26:11 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, dennispaulson AT comcast.net writes: Chris, What's especially interesting to me about your observations are the ovipositing Common Green Darners. It seems that fall breeding in this species extends at least as far north as the northern Coastal Plain of South Carolina. I didn't realize that, thinking maybe it was restricted to Florida. They are breeding in numbers in south Texas and southern California now, and I wonder how far north that behavior extends. It's long past time for someone to put together that story from all the observers we have in the field now. Dennis On Sep 28, 2009, at 5:05 AM, Chris Hill wrote: A front swept away the clouds Sunday afternoon and I decided to scoot out to Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve near Conway, SC. We convinced the 12 year old neighbor to watch our two boys for an hour and a half, so Amy was able to join me for a little slogging (well, a lot, really) through flooded sphagnum down a powerline through a couple Carolina Bays. Last Monday, while checking out the area - I've been looking for boggy spots where I might be able to add a couple new odes to the county list next year - I saw 11 Bar-winged Skimmers and 8 Painted Skimmers. Those are both rather late flight dates, especially the Painted Skimmers, so I wanted to go back out again and get some photos for documentation. I failed. But we did see some of each - 1 Bar-winged, 4 Painted. There have been a couple hard rains since last Monday, so instead of ankle deep, the water was near knee deep in places, and the ode abundance had dropped a lot. Last Monday I "counted" about 390 Little Blue Dragonlets in a about a half hour, yesterday (Sunday) I don't know, a quarter as many? The list, combined across the two dates: Swamp Spreadwings Citrine? or Fragile? Forktails. Most likely the former. a few females Common Green Darners, mating and ovipositing Swamp? Darner (one large dark darner, poorly seen) Common Pondhawk, a couple Little Blue Dragonlet. Clouds of them. Golden-winged Skimmer Bar-winged Skimmer Painted Skimmer Blue Dasher Wandering Glider Carolina Saddlebags - counted about 18 last Monday. At one point there was a flock. I've seen odonate swarms, but this was the only time I've ever seen anything I would call a "flock." Seven of them, all flying around in a group that persisted for a little while, enough time to fly by me a couple times. Granted, there were a couple tandem pairs, so it was about 5 "flying units," but still, those units were going around in a tight group for maybe a minute, so qualitatively it looked different from the more normal one-or-two-individulooked differe a-pair type scenario. Not a ton of diversity, but a different suite of odes from the usual ponds I visit. It's nice to see Pondhawks outnumbered 150 to 1 by other dragonflies.ot Hope those of you in Georgia have managed to tread water through last week's floods. CH ************************************************************************ Christopher E. Hill Biology Department Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC 29528-1954 chill AT coastal.edu _http://ww2.coastal.http://ww2http://ww_ (http://ww2.coastal.edu/chill/chill.htm) The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. - Bertrand Russell ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 _dennispaulson AT dennispauls_ (mailto:dennispaulson AT comcast.net) Subject: Re: Meadowhawk it was not. Thanks! From: "Jan Roxburgh" <2jani AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 23:14:22 -0400 Hi Dennis, Thanks a lot for your help! I've now gone and renamed the photos in my album. This is a great way for me to learn them... Trying to figure what is what from the books I have has proved very challenging. Differences can seem quite subtle sometimes. I guess it will get easier with doing it. It is always a thrill to see those red male Scarlet Skimmers here along the canal. :o) Jan ----- Original Message ----- From: Dennis Paulson To: Jan Roxburgh Cc: se-odonata AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 9:33 PM Subject: Re: [se-odonata] Meadowhawk Hi, Jan. Those yellow dragons are female and/or immature Scarlet Skimmers. This is the only introduced (from Asia) species of odonate in North America. The males are gorgeous scarlet red. In fact I see you also photographed a male. I suppose the reason the yellow ones just turned up, is because they are just emerging from somewhere nearby. Both of your damelflies are Rambur's Forktails, the orange one a female. Dragonfly 0012 is a male Metallic Pennant. Dragon blue is a male Blue Dasher. Dragon yellow stripes is a young male Band-winged Dragonlet. Dragonfly pose is a female Blue Dasher. There are no meadowhawks in southern Florida (except for the rare visitation of migrant Variegated Meadowhawks, usually along the Gulf coast in the winter). Dennis Subject: Re: Meadowhawk From: opihi AT mindspring.com Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 22:07:50 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: Re: Meadowhawk From: Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 18:33:41 -0700 Hi, Jan. Those yellow dragons are female and/or immature Scarlet Skimmers. This is the only introduced (from Asia) species of odonate in North America. The males are gorgeous scarlet red. In fact I see you also photographed a male. I suppose the reason the yellow ones just turned up, is because they are just emerging from somewhere nearby. Both of your damelflies are Rambur's Forktails, the orange one a female. Dragonfly 0012 is a male Metallic Pennant. Dragon blue is a male Blue Dasher. Dragon yellow stripes is a young male Band-winged Dragonlet. Dragonfly pose is a female Blue Dasher. There are no meadowhawks in southern Florida (except for the rare visitation of migrant Variegated Meadowhawks, usually along the Gulf coast in the winter). Dennis On Oct 5, 2009, at 8:55 AM, Jan Roxburgh wrote: > Just had a lot of these yellow dragons turn up to keep the Halloween > Pennants and a few others company... female saffronwinged meadowhawk > maybe? > They look quite amazing when flying around and catching the > sunlight... like > gleaming gold. This one posed long enough for a photo. Will add to Jan > photo album on the group. > > ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net Subject: meadowhawk From: Greg Dodge <grdodge AT embarqmail.com> Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 12:19:24 -0400 First of the season Autumn Meadowhawk on 10/3/09 at NC Museum of Life + Science, Durham, NC, perched on willow leaf in the Wetlands. Greg Dodge Hillsborough, NC www.ncmls.org/learn-about/dodgejournal -------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Meadowhawk From: "Jan Roxburgh" <2jani AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 11:55:15 -0400 Just had a lot of these yellow dragons turn up to keep the Halloween Pennants and a few others company... female saffronwinged meadowhawk maybe? They look quite amazing when flying around and catching the sunlight... like gleaming gold. This one posed long enough for a photo. Will add to Jan photo album on the group. Subject: Lynches River County Park, Florence Co., South Carolina From: Chris Hill <chill AT coastal.edu> Date: Sun, 4 Oct 2009 16:01:20 -0400 Went camping with friends and family this weekend by the Lynches River. Saw only 5 species of odes: Ebony Jewelwing, Calopteryx maculata - 2 Powdered Dancer, Argia moesta - 2 Fawn Darner, Boyeria vinosa - 6 Russett-tipped Clubtail, Stylurus plagiatus - 3 Georgia River Cruiser, Macromia illinoisensis georgina - 2 But it was a lovely spot and any running-water odes are always a pleasure. The very de luxe nature center had a couple display cases of insects. Of the three dragonflies in the case, two were ordinary, but one was a Neurocordulia (Shadowdragon; I'd need to visit with a book and get a better look to say which). Since two in our party were aquatic invertebrate professionals, we also drug some nets through various parts of the river and found all sorts of cool aquatic bugs, some of which were odes as well. CH ************************************************************************ Christopher E. Hill Biology Department Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC 29528-1954 chill AT coastal.edu http://ww2.coastal.edu/chill/chill.htm "Most people would rather die than think. In fact, they do so" - Bertrand Russell Subject: Re: [se-odonata] Late Skimmers Conway SC From: Mike May <phenes53 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:46:22 -0700 (PDT) OK, your Sympetrum answer makes me happy. As for the Anax, I wasn't actually thinkig of them going as far inland as the Great Basin, just away from the coast - perhaps over the Willamette or Central Valleys or, as I said, pushed up againstl the high mountains.   Mike --- On Wed, 9/30/09, Dennis Paulson wrote: From: Dennis Paulson Subject: Re: [se-odonata] Late Skimmers Conway SC To: "Mike May" Cc: "se-odonata AT yahoogroups.com Odonata" , TexOdes AT yahoogroups.com Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 1:42 PM I probably didn't make it clear that the corruptum flights are seen only during the rather uncommon situation of easterly winds. Indeed the normal situation is for winds to be from the west-southwest for much of the year, but at times a high-pressure zone will situate itself in the interior and we'll get a northeasterly flow. That's when people see the meadowhawks on the coast. Presumably they're spread all over the landscape at other times. But we don't see any evidence of Anax migration in Washington, and this may be because we're just near enough to the northern edge of its range that there aren't enough of them to show up as a phenomenon. We see no hint of a spring "migration" in either species, just arrival on breeding grounds. I don't know of any accounts of migrating dragonflies anywhere between the Pacific states and the Great Plains except one at Reno, Nevada, with dragonflies heading into the Sierras. Dennis On Sep 30, 2009, at 9:53 AM, Mike May wrote: Dennis,   If my understanding of what happens in the East is correct, I'd expect western Anax to migrate inland, perhaps even to accumulate along the western face of the Cascades and Sierras. That assumes, again, that prevailing winds are from the west, i.e., in your case away from the coast. My only reason for that assumption is that westerly flow is the rule in mid-latitudes worldwide and year-round, but I don't know if conditions peculiar to the Pacific states in late summer, e.g., high pressure ridges inland over hot (desert?) areas, would cause a substantial deviation from that pattern. If my Anax scenario is correct, though, the question becomes, why are S. corruptum mainly along the coast? --- On Wed, 9/30/09, Dennis Paulson  wrote: From: Dennis Paulson Subject: Re: [se-odonata] Late Skimmers Conway SC To: "Mike May" Cc: "se-odonata AT yahoogroups.com Odonata" Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 12:30 PM Mike, It plays out pretty much the same on the Pacific coast. Our migrant of note is the Variegated Meadowhawk, Sympetrum corruptum, and every fall numbers of them accumulate on some days on the Pacific coast, from southwestern Washington south to central Oregon at least. I don't know why there are no such reports from California, but perhaps they're being seen and not reported. There are certainly plenty of birders on the coast there during the fall. These accumulations in Oregon (sometimes vast numbers, with 50-100 or more/minute passing a coastal site) usually occur during easterly winds that presumably push migrating dragonflies out to the coast. Many years ago I identified stomach contents from coho salmon caught by fishermen off the Oregon coast, and they were all filled with Sympetrum corruptum! Presumably they had blown offshore and finally settled on the water, unable to get back to land. The salmon were having a field day, although I know I was only given the stomachs with dragonflies in them. I have seen Variegated Meadowhawks also in numbers in the Washington mountains in fall while hiking. These were surely migrants, as they were all immatures and more or less blanketed the landscape, not associated with water. Some of them were in southbound flight. It's very episodic, though, not a dependable occurrence and presumably strongly affected by weather patterns. Oddly, we don't have such coastal observations for Anax junius, except occasional sightings. Perhaps the simple reason is that green darners are nowhere nearly as common as the meadowhawks in this region. But I and others have seen great numbers of the darners in northern and central California during the fall, surely in southbound migration. Bird people on the Farallons, off San Francisco, have been keeping records of odonates for years, and I'm encouraging them to get them published. Dennis On Sep 30, 2009, at 8:41 AM, Mike May wrote: There are actually many records of migration away from coastal areas. For example, substantial movements of Green Darners are seen with some regularity at Hawk Mt. in PA and at hawk watches in the Watchung "mts." in NJ. Also there are regular accumulations of vast numbers at. e.g., Pt. Pelee on Lake Erie and sometimes quite large movements around Lake Superior and down Lake Michigan. For that matter, swarms are sometimes seen well away from either mountains or shorelines. I do think coastal migrations are the most common spectacular movements observed, but my guess is that's because prevailing westerly winds tend to cause migrants to drift eastward until they reach large expanses of water. Don't know how that plays out on the Pacific coast, though. Dennis?   Mike May --- On Tue, 9/29/09, Bruce Grimes  wrote: From: Bruce Grimes Subject: Re: [se-odonata] Late Skimmers Conway SC To: "Marion Dobbs" Cc: se-odonata AT yahoogro ups.com Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 10:05 AM Marion, A friend of mine began a migration watch site at Rocky Knob (near mp 168 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Floyd Co, VA) back in the 80's.  In 1992, he arrived at the site and sat for several hours with approx 200 Green Darners (Anax junius) per minute flying by the entire time.  Since that time, he began noting the migration of dragonflies at the site, though not until resources like Dunkle's field guide became available were most species identified. In recent years, with only limited coverage, we have documented lots of dragonfly species (14, plus 2 to genus: Sympetrum and Aeshna) migrating, while keeping an eye out for hawks, other birds, and butterflies also migrating. The site is unusual for Blue Ridge hawk watch sites in that there is a large open upward-sloping field in front of where we sit, with another 100 yds or so (fairly level) to the forest behind (south) of us.  This gives a much better opportunity to observe the flying insects, and more time for ID. I guess this is a long way of saying dragonfly migration occurs away from the coasts.  We get the spring migrants too on our area, with sudden spring occurrence of various species especially Common Green Darner, but King Skimmers as well, including Painted (Libellula semifasciata) .  Painted has also been seen (identified once) in fall migration at the Rocky Knob site. Due to various issues and weather, coverage has been extremely limited this year, but on a very windy day at the site, we recorded only a few Green Darners..  We later heard from an occasional participant that he had many hundreds by his house in Ararat, to the south and below the ridge line. Some speculation earlier about the migration of Twelve-spotted (L. pulchella).  This is in our top 4 migrants at our site.  Maximum probably only in the 30's per day, but very regular in appearance. Bruce Grimes --- On Mon, 9/28/09, Marion Dobbs  wrote: From: Marion Dobbs Subject: Re: [se-odonata] Late Skimmers Conway SC To: se-odonata AT yahoogro ups.com Cc: "Dennis Paulson" , "Chris Hill" Date: Monday, September 28, 2009, 12:22 PM PS And these Georgia fall ovipositors probably wouldn't be coastal migrants. I always think of dragonflies as migrating along the coastline - when I think of dragonfly migration at all. Are these not the common pathways? Marion Dobbs Rome (Floyd Co.) GA spreadwing AT mac.com pond_damsel AT comcast.net http://www.mamomi. net http://albums. phanfare. com/ponddamsel http://mariondobbs. smugmug.com/ "We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another -- until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices."__Bob Greene, author. Marion Dobbs Rome (Floyd Co.) GA spreadwing AT mac.com pond_damsel AT comcast.net http://www.. mamomi.net http://albums. phanfare. com/ponddamsel http://mariondobbs. smugmug.com/   "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few." _Shunryu Suzuki On Sep 28, 2009, at 11:25 AM, Dennis Paulson wrote:   Chris, What's especially interesting to me about your observations are the ovipositing Common Green Darners. It seems that fall breeding in this species extends at least as far north as the northern Coastal Plain of South Carolina. I didn't realize that, thinking maybe it was restricted to Florida. They are breeding in numbers in south Texas and southern California now, and I wonder how far north that behavior extends. It's long past time for someone to put together that story from all the observers we have in the field now. Dennis On Sep 28, 2009, at 5:05 AM, Chris Hill wrote: A front swept away the clouds Sunday afternoon and I decided to scoot  out to Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve near Conway, SC. We  convinced the 12 year old neighbor to watch our two boys for an hour  and a half, so Amy was able to join me for a little slogging (well, a  lot, really) through flooded sphagnum down a powerline through a  couple Carolina Bays. Last Monday, while checking out the area - I've been looking for boggy  spots where I might be able to add a couple new odes to the county  list next year - I saw 11 Bar-winged Skimmers and 8 Painted Skimmers.  Those are both rather late flight dates, especially the Painted  Skimmers, so I wanted to go back out again and get some photos for  documentation. I failed. But we did see some of each - 1 Bar-winged, 4 Painted. There have  been a couple hard rains since last Monday, so instead of ankle deep,  the water was near knee deep in places, and the ode abundance had  dropped a lot. Last Monday I "counted" about 390 Little Blue  Dragonlets in a about a half hour, yesterday (Sunday) I don't know, a  quarter as many? The list, combined across the two dates: Swamp Spreadwings Citrine? or Fragile? Forktails. Most likely the former. a few females Common Green Darners, mating and ovipositing Swamp? Darner (one large dark darner, poorly seen) Common Pondhawk, a couple Little Blue Dragonlet. Clouds of them. Golden-winged Skimmer Bar-winged Skimmer Painted Skimmer Blue Dasher Wandering Glider Carolina Saddlebags - counted about 18 last Monday. At one point  there was a flock. I've seen odonate swarms, but this was the only  time I've ever seen anything I would call a "flock." Seven of them,  all flying around in a group that persisted for a little while, enough  time to fly by me a couple times. Granted, there were a couple tandem  pairs, so it was about 5 "flying units," but still, those units were  going around in a tight group for maybe a minute, so qualitatively it  looked different from the more normal one-or-two-individu als-harassing-  a-pair type scenario. Not a ton of diversity, but a different suite of odes from the usual  ponds I visit. It's nice to see Pondhawks outnumbered 150 to 1 by  other dragonflies. .. Hope those of you in Georgia have managed to tread water through last  week's floods. CH ************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ****** Christopher E. Hill Biology Department Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC 29528-1954 chill AT coastal.edu http://ww2.coastal. edu/chill/ chill.htm The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always  so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. - Bertrand Russell ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net .  ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Late Skimmers Conway SC From: Mike May <phenes53 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:46:22 -0700 (PDT) OK, your Sympetrum answer makes me happy. As for the Anax, I wasn't actually thinkig of them going as far inland as the Great Basin, just away from the coast - perhaps over the Willamette or Central Valleys or, as I said, pushed up againstl the high mountains.   Mike --- On Wed, 9/30/09, Dennis Paulson wrote: From: Dennis Paulson Subject: Re: [se-odonata] Late Skimmers Conway SC To: "Mike May" Cc: "se-odonata AT yahoogroups.com Odonata" , TexOdes AT yahoogroups.com Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 1:42 PM I probably didn't make it clear that the corruptum flights are seen only during the rather uncommon situation of easterly winds. Indeed the normal situation is for winds to be from the west-southwest for much of the year, but at times a high-pressure zone will situate itself in the interior and we'll get a northeasterly flow. That's when people see the meadowhawks on the coast. Presumably they're spread all over the landscape at other times. But we don't see any evidence of Anax migration in Washington, and this may be because we're just near enough to the northern edge of its range that there aren't enough of them to show up as a phenomenon. We see no hint of a spring "migration" in either species, just arrival on breeding grounds. I don't know of any accounts of migrating dragonflies anywhere between the Pacific states and the Great Plains except one at Reno, Nevada, with dragonflies heading into the Sierras. Dennis On Sep 30, 2009, at 9:53 AM, Mike May wrote: Dennis,   If my understanding of what happens in the East is correct, I'd expect western Anax to migrate inland, perhaps even to accumulate along the western face of the Cascades and Sierras. That assumes, again, that prevailing winds are from the west, i.e., in your case away from the coast. My only reason for that assumption is that westerly flow is the rule in mid-latitudes worldwide and year-round, but I don't know if conditions peculiar to the Pacific states in late summer, e.g., high pressure ridges inland over hot (desert?) areas, would cause a substantial deviation from that pattern. If my Anax scenario is correct, though, the question becomes, why are S. corruptum mainly along the coast? --- On Wed, 9/30/09, Dennis Paulson  wrote: From: Dennis Paulson Subject: Re: [se-odonata] Late Skimmers Conway SC To: "Mike May" Cc: "se-odonata AT yahoogroups.com Odonata" Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 12:30 PM Mike, It plays out pretty much the same on the Pacific coast. Our migrant of note is the Variegated Meadowhawk, Sympetrum corruptum, and every fall numbers of them accumulate on some days on the Pacific coast, from southwestern Washington south to central Oregon at least. I don't know why there are no such reports from California, but perhaps they're being seen and not reported. There are certainly plenty of birders on the coast there during the fall. These accumulations in Oregon (sometimes vast numbers, with 50-100 or more/minute passing a coastal site) usually occur during easterly winds that presumably push migrating dragonflies out to the coast. Many years ago I identified stomach contents from coho salmon caught by fishermen off the Oregon coast, and they were all filled with Sympetrum corruptum! Presumably they had blown offshore and finally settled on the water, unable to get back to land. The salmon were having a field day, although I know I was only given the stomachs with dragonflies in them. I have seen Variegated Meadowhawks also in numbers in the Washington mountains in fall while hiking. These were surely migrants, as they were all immatures and more or less blanketed the landscape, not associated with water. Some of them were in southbound flight. It's very episodic, though, not a dependable occurrence and presumably strongly affected by weather patterns. Oddly, we don't have such coastal observations for Anax junius, except occasional sightings. Perhaps the simple reason is that green darners are nowhere nearly as common as the meadowhawks in this region. But I and others have seen great numbers of the darners in northern and central California during the fall, surely in southbound migration. Bird people on the Farallons, off San Francisco, have been keeping records of odonates for years, and I'm encouraging them to get them published. Dennis On Sep 30, 2009, at 8:41 AM, Mike May wrote: There are actually many records of migration away from coastal areas. For example, substantial movements of Green Darners are seen with some regularity at Hawk Mt. in PA and at hawk watches in the Watchung "mts." in NJ. Also there are regular accumulations of vast numbers at. e.g., Pt. Pelee on Lake Erie and sometimes quite large movements around Lake Superior and down Lake Michigan. For that matter, swarms are sometimes seen well away from either mountains or shorelines. I do think coastal migrations are the most common spectacular movements observed, but my guess is that's because prevailing westerly winds tend to cause migrants to drift eastward until they reach large expanses of water. Don't know how that plays out on the Pacific coast, though. Dennis?   Mike May --- On Tue, 9/29/09, Bruce Grimes  wrote: From: Bruce Grimes Subject: Re: [se-odonata] Late Skimmers Conway SC To: "Marion Dobbs" Cc: se-odonata AT yahoogro ups.com Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 10:05 AM Marion, A friend of mine began a migration watch site at Rocky Knob (near mp 168 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Floyd Co, VA) back in the 80's.  In 1992, he arrived at the site and sat for several hours with approx 200 Green Darners (Anax junius) per minute flying by the entire time.  Since that time, he began noting the migration of dragonflies at the site, though not until resources like Dunkle's field guide became available were most species identified. In recent years, with only limited coverage, we have documented lots of dragonfly species (14, plus 2 to genus: Sympetrum and Aeshna) migrating, while keeping an eye out for hawks, other birds, and butterflies also migrating. The site is unusual for Blue Ridge hawk watch sites in that there is a large open upward-sloping field in front of where we sit, with another 100 yds or so (fairly level) to the forest behind (south) of us.  This gives a much better opportunity to observe the flying insects, and more time for ID. I guess this is a long way of saying dragonfly migration occurs away from the coasts.  We get the spring migrants too on our area, with sudden spring occurrence of various species especially Common Green Darner, but King Skimmers as well, including Painted (Libellula semifasciata) .  Painted has also been seen (identified once) in fall migration at the Rocky Knob site. Due to various issues and weather, coverage has been extremely limited this year, but on a very windy day at the site, we recorded only a few Green Darners..  We later heard from an occasional participant that he had many hundreds by his house in Ararat, to the south and below the ridge line. Some speculation earlier about the migration of Twelve-spotted (L. pulchella).  This is in our top 4 migrants at our site.  Maximum probably only in the 30's per day, but very regular in appearance. Bruce Grimes --- On Mon, 9/28/09, Marion Dobbs  wrote: From: Marion Dobbs Subject: Re: [se-odonata] Late Skimmers Conway SC To: se-odonata AT yahoogro ups.com Cc: "Dennis Paulson" , "Chris Hill" Date: Monday, September 28, 2009, 12:22 PM PS And these Georgia fall ovipositors probably wouldn't be coastal migrants. I always think of dragonflies as migrating along the coastline - when I think of dragonfly migration at all. Are these not the common pathways? Marion Dobbs Rome (Floyd Co.) GA spreadwing AT mac.com pond_damsel AT comcast.net http://www.mamomi. net http://albums. phanfare. com/ponddamsel http://mariondobbs. smugmug.com/ "We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another -- until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices."__Bob Greene, author. Marion Dobbs Rome (Floyd Co.) GA spreadwing AT mac.com pond_damsel AT comcast.net http://www.. mamomi.net http://albums. phanfare. com/ponddamsel http://mariondobbs. smugmug.com/   "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few." _Shunryu Suzuki On Sep 28, 2009, at 11:25 AM, Dennis Paulson wrote:   Chris, What's especially interesting to me about your observations are the ovipositing Common Green Darners. It seems that fall breeding in this species extends at least as far north as the northern Coastal Plain of South Carolina. I didn't realize that, thinking maybe it was restricted to Florida. They are breeding in numbers in south Texas and southern California now, and I wonder how far north that behavior extends. It's long past time for someone to put together that story from all the observers we have in the field now. Dennis On Sep 28, 2009, at 5:05 AM, Chris Hill wrote: A front swept away the clouds Sunday afternoon and I decided to scoot  out to Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve near Conway, SC. We  convinced the 12 year old neighbor to watch our two boys for an hour  and a half, so Amy was able to join me for a little slogging (well, a  lot, really) through flooded sphagnum down a powerline through a  couple Carolina Bays. Last Monday, while checking out the area - I've been looking for boggy  spots where I might be able to add a couple new odes to the county  list next year - I saw 11 Bar-winged Skimmers and 8 Painted Skimmers.  Those are both rather late flight dates, especially the Painted  Skimmers, so I wanted to go back out again and get some photos for  documentation. I failed. But we did see some of each - 1 Bar-winged, 4 Painted. There have  been a couple hard rains since last Monday, so instead of ankle deep,  the water was near knee deep in places, and the ode abundance had  dropped a lot. Last Monday I "counted" about 390 Little Blue  Dragonlets in a about a half hour, yesterday (Sunday) I don't know, a  quarter as many? The list, combined across the two dates: Swamp Spreadwings Citrine? or Fragile? Forktails. Most likely the former. a few females Common Green Darners, mating and ovipositing Swamp? Darner (one large dark darner, poorly seen) Common Pondhawk, a couple Little Blue Dragonlet. Clouds of them. Golden-winged Skimmer Bar-winged Skimmer Painted Skimmer Blue Dasher Wandering Glider Carolina Saddlebags - counted about 18 last Monday. At one point  there was a flock. I've seen odonate swarms, but this was the only  time I've ever seen anything I would call a "flock." Seven of them,  all flying around in a group that persisted for a little while, enough  time to fly by me a couple times. Granted, there were a couple tandem  pairs, so it was about 5 "flying units," but still, those units were  going around in a tight group for maybe a minute, so qualitatively it  looked different from the more normal one-or-two-individu als-harassing-  a-pair type scenario. Not a ton of diversity, but a different suite of odes from the usual  ponds I visit. It's nice to see Pondhawks outnumbered 150 to 1 by  other dragonflies. .. Hope those of you in Georgia have managed to tread water through last  week's floods. CH ************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ****** Christopher E. Hill Biology Department Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC 29528-1954 chill AT coastal.edu http://ww2.coastal. edu/chill/ chill.htm The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always  so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. - Bertrand Russell ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net .  ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net ----- Dennis Paulson 1724 NE 98 St. Seattle, WA 98115 206-528-1382 dennispaulson AT comcast.net