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SE Odonata

Updated on Tuesday, October 9 at 07:32 AM ET
The most recently received Mail is at the top.

Oh, great. Now photographing or netting dragonflies could be seen as a 
"security incident". See this article in today's Washington Post:


 


Hmmm, a couple of years ago I was out walking in February and caught a 
glimpse of Anax junius. I told myself I was imagining things. Perhaps I 
wasn't....

This could be a source of lucrative employment for entomologists.

-- 
June Tveekrem
Columbia, Maryland, U.S.
damselfly|AT|southernspreadwing.com

Oh, great. Now photographing or netting dragonflies could be seen as a 
"security incident". See this article in today's Washington Post:


 


Hmmm, a couple of years ago I was out walking in February and caught a 
glimpse of Anax junius. I told myself I was imagining things. Perhaps I 
wasn't....

This could be a source of lucrative employment for entomologists.

-- 
June Tveekrem
Columbia, Maryland, U.S.
damselfly|AT|southernspreadwing.com

On Sep 24, 2007, at 2:37 PM, Charlie wrote:
>
> needless to say, we didn't dump the pool.  I'm thinking about
> transferring them to a tank at the school where I teach.  Just need
> to find a tiny food source.  We live in a very rural area, so the
> local grocer doesn't carry daphnia...  :-)

A lot of pet stores carry tubifex worms and brine shrimp, both as  
food for tropical fish... Failing that, you could probably get  
adequate prey for your larvae out of any local pond, swamp, or ditch  
with a dip net or bucket.

Good luck,

Josh


Joshua Stuart Rose
1220 Kerria Ave.
McAllen TX
opihi AT mindspring.com


Duke Natural History Society
http://www.biology.duke.edu/dnhs/

Hi folks,

I appreciate all this info being sent to the lest, even though I'm
not the one who asked.  But we are planning to put a small pond (~500
gallons?) in our yard in the piedmont of Georgia.  

We were quite surprised yesterday, as we went to dump out our son's
plastic kiddie pool, to find 6 or 7 dragonfly larvae!  No idea what
species, and they were 2 distinct sizes.  I'm not good with larvae,
but I'm guessing they were all the same species, and some were simply
older than others.  The smallest were no more than 2mm long and the
biggest were maybe 5 mm.  NEVER would have seen them in a natural
setting!  But the bright yellow plastic provided a great background.

needless to say, we didn't dump the pool.  I'm thinking about
transferring them to a tank at the school where I teach.  Just need
to find a tiny food source.  We live in a very rural area, so the
local grocer doesn't carry daphnia...  :-)

Charlie Muise
Lamar County, GA
--- visualmm  wrote:

> Subject: 	Fwd:  Re: tampering with nature
> 	Date: 	September 4, 2007 6:32:45 PM EDT
> 
> --- In se-odonata AT yahoogroups.com, Joshua Stuart Rose 
> wrote:
> 
> On Aug 27, 2007, at 9:46 AM, visualmm wrote:
> >
> > not sure what plants to put in/around.
> 
> Lily pads are popular with certain odes and many aquatic critters,
> as
> are most sedges and rushes, and other emergent species like
> arrowheads, water plantain, etc. Cattails can be good but sometimes
> will take over and choke the entire wetland with leaves and stems.
> 
> > btw what
> > are their preferred food beside flying things? do odes eat
> japanese
> > beetles?
> 
> Would be surprised to see one eating a large scarab beetle like a
> Jap. The Pondhawks tend to take the largest prey, usually
> butterflies, moths, and other dragons. Other dragonflies most often
> go for dipterans (flies, midges, mosquitoes, etc.) and
> hymenopterans
> (bees, wasps), with the occasional feeding frenzy when termites
> have
> a mass emergence/mating flight. Philip Corbet's 2000 book
> "Dragonflies" has a whole chapter on adult diet, and I think a
> separate chapter on larval diet.
> 
> > i think the nymphs can move beneath the barrier. what food are
> > they interested in? can they eat little tadpoles? baby bluegill
> i've
> > yet to net out?
> 
> All that and more. The largest nymphs will happily eat small fish,
> frog and toad tadpoles. The smallest, first-instars damselflies, go
> for micro-crustacea like daphnia, ostracods, and so on. All sizes
> will eat worms, other insects... basically anything that moves and
> is
> their size or smaller.
> 
> > does this group have a faq place for such as me?
> 
> No, but there are a bunch of good resources on the Internet. Some
> are
> more general:
> 
> http://www.dragonflies.org/faq.htm
> http://www.odesforbeginners.com/
> http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Odonata&contgroup=Pterygota
> http://sonic.net/dragonfly/faq.html
> http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk/faq.html
> 
> but for specific information on building ponds for dragonflies, a
> great place to start is Kathy Biggs' website:
> http://bigsnestpond.net/
> 
> There are a few others out there, for example:
>
http://www.cwf-fcf.org/pages/wildresources/wildresourceshabitat_e.asp?
> section=7&page=126&language=e
> 
> And the British Dragonfly Society sells a booklet "Dig a Pond for
> Dragonflies" which I think can be purchased via their website:
> http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk/shop.html
> 
> Have fun,
> 
> Josh
> 
> 
> Joshua Stuart Rose
> 1220 Kerria Ave.
> McAllen TX
> opihi AT ...
>
> 
> Duke Natural History Society
> http://www.biology.duke.edu/dnhs/
> -------------
> hi josh thank you so very much for all kinds of information. i
> truly 
> appreciate your effort to gather it up. i have been sharing with
> some 
> friends including haiku poets. a few days before the pond ideas
> came we 
> dug a little pond. only a couple of teeny-tiny wet-weather springs.
> we 
> siphoned about 460 gallons from the nearby pond. such a drought
> we're 
> in. i hope eventually it will be ok for odes. waiting for a friend
> to 
> advise and help with some plants. a shadow darner has shown
> interest. a 
> frog however moved in the first day. photos on my flickr site. plus
> 
> some emeralds. i'm hoping the blurry photos are of the female 
> ski-tipped. she appeared to dip the eggs in the water then deposit
> them 
> on a mossy/grass area. too fast for me/camera. in the area where
> the 
> male was around earlier. again many thanks. marlene 9/11
> 
> Marlene Mountain
> http://www.marlenemountain.org
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/marlenemountain/
> 
> 
> 
>  
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
> 
> 
> 



       

____________________________________________________________________________________ 

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Oders,

Saw just one ode yesterday, but it was a good one.  Picking up Carl
Rothfels from his apartment in Durham he spotted a spreadwing along the
driveway as we were pulling out.  After throwing the car in park and
hopping out, I managed a couple photos of a GREAT SPREADWING (Archilestes
grandis) perched on a twig about knee high.  It was quite skittish and
darted up to higher twigs when I approached with the camera.  After
snapping a few shots, Carl got the net, swooshed, but the bug somehow
dodged the net and disappeared.  Anyway, it was a first for us.

Here's the picture:

http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/dragonflies/greatspreadwing.htm

Cheers,
Jeff

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jeffrey S. Pippen
Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
Rm A-241 LSRC Bldg, Box 90328
Duke University, Durham, NC  27708
PH:
http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/nature.htm
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Well, from one pond.

There's a pond on my campus near my office, and I try to get out and  
count the odes there every so often, since doing that takes only 20  
minutes or so.  Common Pondhawks, once they get established (in May)  
have dominated the counts.  From late May through all of June, July,  
and August, pondhawks made up more than half of the odes I saw there,  
every visit.  Today, zero.  Quite remarkable.  That caused me to go  
back over my records, and notably, the pondhawk count had dipped  
*below* 50% of the total for the first time two weeks ago, September  
5th.  So I guess this was coming.

The weather around here finally "broke" just this weekend - after hot  
humid weather without a break all summer, a front came through with  
cooler, drier air Saturday, and it's stayed like that - sunny but 84  
with low humidity and a breeze, not 90 with ridiculous humidity.  But  
it looks like the pondhawks started becoming scarce before the  
weather changed.

Also no Needham's Skimmers or Slaty Skimmers or Halloween Pennants,  
which had been regular in small numbers at this pond for the last six  
weeks or so.  Blue Dashers were up (maybe easier to pick out without  
all the pondhawks?).  I'm sure the pondhawks and others aren't really  
done for the season, but the community has definitely changed!

The details, in brief (probably the formatting will be off, sorry -  
columns are month, day, total species observed, total individuals  
observed, total pondhawks observed):

May   
May   
May   
Jun    
Jun    
Jun   
Jul    
Jul   
Jul   
Jul   
Aug   
Aug   
Aug   
Aug   
Sep    
Sep   

After three years watching odes, I'm still just getting around to  
keeping halfway decent field notes, and it returns new insights  
pretty regularly!

************************************************************************
Christopher E. Hill
Biology Department
Coastal Carolina University
Conway, SC 
chill AT coastal.edu
http://ww2.coastal.edu/chill/chill.htm

EDUCATION: n.  That which discloses to the wise and disguises from  
the foolish their lack of understanding.  - Ambrose Bierce: The  
Devil's Dictionary

A colleague of mine made me aware of this remote-controlled dragonfly...
chech out the videos...you won't believe it.

[Link]http://www.flytechonline.com/

Wade Worthen

hi i've added a few photographs of spreadwings to my flickr site. might 
someone have the time to identify the females? thank you. marlene

Marlene Mountain
http://www.marlenemountain.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marlenemountain/

Hey y'all,

One more resource on creating and improving dragonfly habitat. A  
couple of years ago I bought a copy of "A Dazzle of Dragonflies" by  
Forrest Mitchell and James Lasswell. Never had time to read it. This  
week, I cracked it open just on a whim, and whaddaya know? A whole  
chapter entitled "Water Gardening for Dragonflies"!

http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2005/mitchelldragonflies.htm

http://stephenville.tamu.edu/~fmitchel/dragonfly/book/index.html

Happy reading,

Josh



Joshua Stuart Rose
1220 Kerria Ave.
McAllen TX
opihi AT mindspring.com


Duke Natural History Society
http://www.biology.duke.edu/dnhs/

Subject: 	Fwd:  Re: tampering with nature
	Date: 	September 4, 2007 6:32:45 PM EDT

--- In se-odonata AT yahoogroups.com, Joshua Stuart Rose  wrote:

On Aug 27, 2007, at 9:46 AM, visualmm wrote:
>
> not sure what plants to put in/around.

Lily pads are popular with certain odes and many aquatic critters, as
are most sedges and rushes, and other emergent species like
arrowheads, water plantain, etc. Cattails can be good but sometimes
will take over and choke the entire wetland with leaves and stems.

> btw what
> are their preferred food beside flying things? do odes eat japanese
> beetles?

Would be surprised to see one eating a large scarab beetle like a
Jap. The Pondhawks tend to take the largest prey, usually
butterflies, moths, and other dragons. Other dragonflies most often
go for dipterans (flies, midges, mosquitoes, etc.) and hymenopterans
(bees, wasps), with the occasional feeding frenzy when termites have
a mass emergence/mating flight. Philip Corbet's 2000 book
"Dragonflies" has a whole chapter on adult diet, and I think a
separate chapter on larval diet.

> i think the nymphs can move beneath the barrier. what food are
> they interested in? can they eat little tadpoles? baby bluegill i've
> yet to net out?

All that and more. The largest nymphs will happily eat small fish,
frog and toad tadpoles. The smallest, first-instars damselflies, go
for micro-crustacea like daphnia, ostracods, and so on. All sizes
will eat worms, other insects... basically anything that moves and is
their size or smaller.

> does this group have a faq place for such as me?

No, but there are a bunch of good resources on the Internet. Some are
more general:

http://www.dragonflies.org/faq.htm
http://www.odesforbeginners.com/
http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Odonata&contgroup=Pterygota
http://sonic.net/dragonfly/faq.html
http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk/faq.html

but for specific information on building ponds for dragonflies, a
great place to start is Kathy Biggs' website:
http://bigsnestpond.net/

There are a few others out there, for example:
http://www.cwf-fcf.org/pages/wildresources/wildresourceshabitat_e.asp?
section=7&page=126&language=e

And the British Dragonfly Society sells a booklet "Dig a Pond for
Dragonflies" which I think can be purchased via their website:
http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk/shop.html

Have fun,

Josh


Joshua Stuart Rose
1220 Kerria Ave.
McAllen TX
opihi AT ...

Duke Natural History Society
http://www.biology.duke.edu/dnhs/
-------------
hi josh thank you so very much for all kinds of information. i truly 
appreciate your effort to gather it up. i have been sharing with some 
friends including haiku poets. a few days before the pond ideas came we 
dug a little pond. only a couple of teeny-tiny wet-weather springs. we 
siphoned about 460 gallons from the nearby pond. such a drought we're 
in. i hope eventually it will be ok for odes. waiting for a friend to 
advise and help with some plants. a shadow darner has shown interest. a 
frog however moved in the first day. photos on my flickr site. plus 
some emeralds. i'm hoping the blurry photos are of the female 
ski-tipped. she appeared to dip the eggs in the water then deposit them 
on a mossy/grass area. too fast for me/camera. in the area where the 
male was around earlier. again many thanks. marlene 9/11

Marlene Mountain
http://www.marlenemountain.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marlenemountain/

Colleton County, SC, today. The big news is that Common Green Darners must 
surely be migrating. Numbers have increased dramatically since the last time 
I was out. Overall ode #s are still low, but much better than a month ago. I 
didn't bother counting individuals with larger #s - was out to just enjoy 
some precious (rare) time off. One of the day's most interesting sights was 
a rather late pair of Mississippi Kites flying down high-flying Green 
Darners like falcons, only capturing prey about once every 5 times, during 
the time I watched them. Great aerobatics from predator & prey, both!

The question is - I saw a large mosaic darner repeatedly hovering (VERY 
briefly) over water & flicking her abdomen. I felt pretty sure she was 
dropping eggs - have seen some skimmer species do this, but the few large 
mosaic darners (Swamp, Regal & Cyrano) I have seen ovipositing have all 
sliced into either partially submerged & sodden wood or plant stems. Does 
anyone know of a species that does this? Or do all species do it sometimes? 
Is it a reasonable strategy, or is it 'dumping' eggs? Thanks in advance for 
any information on this!

Rambur's Forktail (Ischnura ramburii) - 1
Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera) - 1

Common Green Darner (Anax junius)
Regal Darner (Coryphaeschna ingens) - 1
Swamp Darner (Epiaeschna heros)
Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)
Seaside Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax berenice)
Four-spotted Pennant (Brachymesia gravida)
Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina) -1 (so small, I thought it was 
something else!)
Marl Pennant (Macrodiplax balteata) - 1
Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis)
Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) - 5 or 6
Carolina Saddlebags (Tramea carolina) - maybe 4
Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans) - about 6
Needham's Skimmer (Libellula needhami) - 1

Sharon L. Brown
http://slbrownphoto.com 

Hi Group:
 
I am finally expecting the Color companion guide to the Damselflies of NA
any day now. I have been cross checking and labeling the shipping
containers.
Some of you ordered this book 2 years ago. Please let me know if you had an
address change. 
 
Also I have about 25 copies left of the DF of Central America. This will not
be republished.
 
For other books and envelopes please check the web site below.
 
 
Thanks.
 
Bill Mauffray
International Odonata Research Institute
PO Box 147100
Gainesville FL 
 cell
  iodonata AT bellsouth.net
  http://www.iodonata.net
 
 

Today, 9/7/07, I, at first glance, believed I was observing two Rambur 
Forktails that were a bit light in the slippers. After checking out 
Giff Beaton's guide, page # 130, I discovered the bottom mate was an " 
immature malelike female." I have posted the two, in the wheel 
position, to the photo section.  

David, 
Looks like Illinois River Cruiser  to me. And congratulations on the capture! 
This one could easily be called River  Racer! As noted in Dunkle, it cruises 
fast! Last week I was trying to catch  a particular one here, along Harpeth 
River, without success. From the markings I  could see it appeared to be M. 
illioniensis. It literally flew circles around me! I could not swing as fast as 

it could fly! I have caught one before, and had another fly up near me, perch, 

and pose for pictures. But I  think I have otherwise run out of beginner's 
luck and will have to rely on  persistence if I want to capture and check 
details for  identification.
See my photos of those  at:
_http://www.pbase.com/rconnorsnaturephoto/cruisers_ 
(http://www.pbase.com/rconnorsnaturephoto/cruisers) 
 
Richard Connors
Nashville
 
_www.pbase.com/rconnorsnaturephoto_ 
(http://www.pbase.com/rconnorsnaturephoto) 





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Dear Southeast Odonata Members,

I have recently been concerned about the scope of the malaria problem  
around the world and have determined that no human should have to  
submit to this monstrously lethal mosquito born plague.  It seems  
that with very little effort and expense, the mosquito populations  
could be easily controlled.  I am preparing a design essay for the  
Buckminster Fuller Challenge.  (http://challenge.bfi.org/main.php)  
They are seeking submissions for a design that would benefit the  
greatest amount of humanity in the shortest amount of time by using  
the smallest amount of resources  applied in exactly the right time  
and place while causing no ecological offense.  I theorize that  
malaria-endemic regions would benefit from introduction of greater  
numbers of natural mosquito predators. I would like to propose the  
design of a modular, accelerated breeding program for dragonflies.   
However, my education is in creative writing and humanities and my  
profession is in computer science and application design.  I am  
reaching out to entomologists, ornithologists, ecologists, dragonfly  
experts and enthusiasts who can help me understand the requirements  
of a successful dragonfly or damselfly breeding program which  
anticipates long term consequences of said program on the ecosystems  
in malaria-endemic areas.

My understanding is that dragonflies are the most successful  
predators of adult mosquitoes and midges, but they also eat bees and  
butterflies which are essential pollinators.  Are there any known  
species which prey exclusively on mosquitoes?  What animals might  
suffer if dragonflies impact mosquito populations?

I have read, that dragonfly larva are not know to be as effective  
predators of mosquito larva as compared to small minnows.  Would it  
be preferable to breed dragonflies which have the longest adult life  
spans?  Apparently some species of dragonflies take several years to  
mature.  Which ones mature the fastest?

What are the known predators of dragonflies?  Would our newly hatched  
dragons be instantly thwarted by insectivorous birds?  If so, what  
would be the consequence if said birds encountered elevated food  
supplies?

Theoretically, how many dragonflies would need to be bred and  
released in the wild in order to significantly cull mosquito  
populations?

What difficulties have been faced in previous attempts to breed  
dragonflies?  Would breeding need to take place in a field laboratory  
near endemic regions, or could breeding operations be done in more  
modernized countries and then be delivered and distributed?

What other mailing lists would be appropriate or helpful in  
conceptualizing and applying this theory?  If you know of any people  
who would be interested in helping, would you please forward this  
request to them?

If anyone is interested in helping to draft this essay or provide  
expert or empirical evidence regarding the relationship to  
dragonflies and their ability to control mosquito populations while  
not hampering the rest of the ecosystem please let me know since this  
is a requirement of the application.  I would be happy to set up some  
sort of project wiki that makes it easy contribute and collaborate on  
the outline of this project over the web.

I am considering this to be a purely non-profit endeavor.  All  
funding acquired via grants, donations and prizes would be fully  
committed to program research, development and operation.  All  
research and development would have to be volunteer until staff  
positions become realized.  All research and intellectual property  
would be freely disclosed in order to promote public awareness,  
conservation, technical advancement of proposed solutions as well as  
to avoid litigation.

Any help or suggestions or online collaboration would be greatly  
appreciated.

Best regards,

Amir

On Aug 27, 2007, at 9:46 AM, visualmm wrote:
>
> not sure what plants to put in/around.

Lily pads are popular with certain odes and many aquatic critters, as  
are most sedges and rushes, and other emergent species like  
arrowheads, water plantain, etc. Cattails can be good but sometimes  
will take over and choke the entire wetland with leaves and stems.

> btw what
> are their preferred food beside flying things? do odes eat japanese
> beetles?

Would be surprised to see one eating a large scarab beetle like a  
Jap. The Pondhawks tend to take the largest prey, usually  
butterflies, moths, and other dragons. Other dragonflies most often  
go for dipterans (flies, midges, mosquitoes, etc.) and hymenopterans  
(bees, wasps), with the occasional feeding frenzy when termites have  
a mass emergence/mating flight. Philip Corbet's 2000 book  
"Dragonflies" has a whole chapter on adult diet, and I think a  
separate chapter on larval diet.

> i think the nymphs can move beneath the barrier. what food are
> they interested in? can they eat little tadpoles? baby bluegill i've
> yet to net out?

All that and more. The largest nymphs will happily eat small fish,  
frog and toad tadpoles. The smallest, first-instars damselflies, go  
for micro-crustacea like daphnia, ostracods, and so on. All sizes  
will eat worms, other insects... basically anything that moves and is  
their size or smaller.

> does this group have a faq place for such as me?

No, but there are a bunch of good resources on the Internet. Some are  
more general:

http://www.dragonflies.org/faq.htm
http://www.odesforbeginners.com/
http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Odonata&contgroup=Pterygota
http://sonic.net/dragonfly/faq.html
http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk/faq.html

but for specific information on building ponds for dragonflies, a  
great place to start is Kathy Biggs' website:
http://bigsnestpond.net/

There are a few others out there, for example:
http://www.cwf-fcf.org/pages/wildresources/wildresourceshabitat_e.asp? 
section=7&page=126&language=e

And the British Dragonfly Society sells a booklet "Dig a Pond for  
Dragonflies" which I think can be purchased via their website:
http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk/shop.html

Have fun,

Josh


Joshua Stuart Rose
1220 Kerria Ave.
McAllen TX
opihi AT mindspring.com


Duke Natural History Society
http://www.biology.duke.edu/dnhs/

Hi, Vince.

This is a good example of the fact that insects such as Julias that  
are protected from bird predation by the chemicals they take into  
their bodies from their food plants have no protection against other  
insects (or spiders). This presumably means that birds are a much  
greater threat to them than other insects, including dragonflies,  
are. I photographed a Common Green Darner enjoying a Queen (another  
butterfly unpalatable to birds) for lunch in Texas.

Dennis

On Sep 4, 2007, at 4:38 AM, princewince wrote:

> Yesterday, 03 Sept 2007, at the Southern Glades W.E.A.,(aka Annex)
> near Florida City, Miami-Dade Co., Florida, I photographed this Great
> Pondhawk (Erythemis vesiculosa) eating a Julia (Dryas iulia). It was
> gruesome but fascinating nonetheless to watch the dragon snatch the
> beautiful butterfly out of mid air and then take it to a perch to
> feed. The photo is in the Photo section. Cheers. Vince Lucas,  
> Naples, FL.
>
>
> 

-----
Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115

dennispaulson AT comcast.net

On Monday, I spent a couple afternoon hours at Seven Islands 
Wildlife Refuge in east Knox County, Tennessee. This is not a great 
place for Odes, but really good for general diversity of all kinds 
of species.
Most common were Blue-fronted Dancers and Common Whitetails.

The star of my visit was this River Cruiser, which I have identified 
as an Illinois RC, Macromia illinoiensis.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/avian_pursuits//in/set-
/

I hope that link will get you to the picture. You should be able to 
look through that set for a few more showing additional details of 
this dragonfly. I'd appreciate if anyone can confirm or question the 
identity of this.

Thank you!
David Trently
Avian Pursuits Nature Tours
Knoxville, TN

Yesterday, 03 Sept 2007, at the Southern Glades W.E.A.,(aka Annex)
near Florida City, Miami-Dade Co., Florida, I photographed this Great
Pondhawk (Erythemis vesiculosa) eating a Julia (Dryas iulia). It was
gruesome but fascinating nonetheless to watch the dragon snatch the
beautiful butterfly out of mid air and then take it to a perch to
feed. The photo is in the Photo section. Cheers. Vince Lucas, Naples, FL.

Folks,

Yesterday Meg Millard, Roger Rittmaster and I did a day trip to the 
Sandhills Gamelands. The day was very nice and only hot for a short 
time. The goal was to go and check out Crappie Lake, which neither 
Roger or Meg had been to before and it had been 3-4 years since I'd 
been there. My first visit to Crappie lake it was half full perhaps 
7-8 years ago, since then it was a drained lake with a nice creek 
running through it. Yesterday the lake was full to the brim with no 
trails to walk around it and 5-10 year old pine trees way out in the 
lake that grew when the lake was empty. So we did not find much to 
get into at the lake.

Our first stop of the morning was at the Moore/ Richmond county line 
on Thunder Rd, where we found lots of both Creole and Southern 
Pearly-eyes. We ended the day at Gum Swamp Lake where we found a life 
damselfly, one that the state parks database has no recent reports 
on. The damselflies were Smoky Rubyspots (see 
http://rlephoto.com/pblog/index.php?m=09&y=07&entry=entry070903-182419 
) and we found them on the Richmond/Scotland county line on both 
sides of the creak making them two county records. I'veposted photos 
of mated Sparkling jewelwings at 
http://rlephoto.com/pblog/index.php?m=09&y=07&entry=entry070903-175934

Here's what we had first Moore, then Richmond than Scotland county

Sparkling Jewelwing (Calopteryx dimidiata) 0, 15, 0
Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata) 0,1, 2
Smoky Rubyspot (Hetaerina titia) 0, 3, 4
Swamp Spreadwing (Lestes vigilax) 0, 4, 3
Variable Dancer (Argia fumipennis), 1, 20, 6
Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta) 0, 20, 32
Blue-tipped Dancer (Argia tibialis) 0, 6, 8
Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile) 0, 1, 0 male

Common Green Darner, Anax junius 0, 4, 3
Swamp Darner, Epiaeschna heros 0, 1, 0
Southeastern Spinyleg, Dromogomphus armatus 0, 0, 1
Amanda's Pennant, Celithemis amanda 0, 20, 12
Banded Pennant, Celithemis fasciata 0, 0, 4
Eastern Pondhawk, Erythemis simplicicollis 0, 12, 15
Little Blue Dragonlet, Erythrodiplax minuscula 0, 2, 1
Golden-winged Skimmer, Libellula auripennis 0, 25, 20
Yellow-sided Skimmer, Libellula flavida 0, 0, 1 female
Slaty Skimmer, Libellula incesta 0, 2, 3
Great Blue Skimmer, Libellula vibrans 1, 0, 0
Blue Dasher, Pachydiplax longipennis 0, 12, 12
Eastern Amberwing, Perithemis tenera 0, 4, 4
Carolina Saddlebags, Tramea carolina 0, 1, 2
Black Saddlebags, Tramea lacerata 0, 2, 0

Cheers,

Randy Emmitt & Meg Millard
Rougemont, NC
http://rlephoto.com/pblog/index.php
www.rlephoto.com

Hi Fitz,
     I too also receive many email reports from the southeast, but I never
  hear of any reports of the burgundy bluet, Enallagma dubium.
     I have reported this beautiful species from the Eastern Shore of
  Maryland and was wondering if there was some reason why this
  species has become so rare in the southeast.
     Best wishes.
  Thank you.
  Sincerely,
  Lance  

Fitz Clarke  wrote: 
          Today,9/3/07,I ventured out, subsequent to having received 13 inches 
of rain in three days,here on Skidaway Island, Ga. With knee high 
rubber boots, binoculars,tripod, digital SLR camera, cable release, 
and camera flash, I checked a bog area to find it saturated with 
floating duckweed and many male and female Duckweed Firetails. A near 
by weeded low area, tangent to woods, was alive with pairs of Common 
Green Darner's, Carolina Saddlebags, Blue Dasher's, Neeham Skimmer's, 
and Roseate Skimmer's. My mission was to photograph the tandem pairs 
of Common Green Darner's, and I had a very successful time of it, 
standing in water just below the top of my boots as the mosquitoes 
buzzed about. I posted three of my exposures. 
I am new to this group, and am having a wonderful time shooting the 
odonates here on Skidaway.
I note no one, or only a very few, has posted a photograph within the 
last year, and I wonder why? Mean while, with Giff Beaton's, " 
Dragonflies and Damselflies of Georgia and the Southeast," my 35 SLR 
digital camera, binoculars, golf cart, bug spray and water I will 
continue to document the bugs of Skidaway. Regards, Fitz Clarke



                         

       
---------------------------------
Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story.
 Play Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games. 

Today,9/3/07,I ventured out, subsequent to having received 13 inches 
of rain in three days,here on Skidaway Island, Ga. With knee high 
rubber boots, binoculars,tripod, digital SLR camera, cable release, 
and camera flash,  I checked a bog area to find it saturated with 
floating duckweed and many male and female Duckweed Firetails. A near 
by weeded low area, tangent to woods, was alive with pairs of Common 
Green Darner's, Carolina Saddlebags, Blue Dasher's, Neeham Skimmer's, 
and Roseate Skimmer's. My mission was to photograph the tandem pairs 
of Common Green Darner's, and I had a very successful time of it, 
standing in water just below the top of my boots as the mosquitoes 
buzzed about. I posted three of my exposures. 
I am new to this group, and am having a wonderful time shooting the 
odonates here on Skidaway.
I note no one, or only a very few, has posted a photograph within the 
last year, and I wonder why? Mean while, with Giff Beaton's, " 
Dragonflies and Damselflies of Georgia and the Southeast," my 35 SLR 
digital camera, binoculars, golf cart, bug spray and water I will 
continue to document the bugs of Skidaway. Regards, Fitz Clarke

Dragonfliers,

This past weekend several of us including Harry LeGrand, Will Cook, and
Ted Wilcox spent the weekend doing butterfly surveys at two locations
along the North Carolina coast.  Saturday 25 August was spent in western
Brunswick Co. and Sunday 26 August was in the Croatan N.F. in Carteret and
Craven Counties.

The most significant find was MARL PENNANT at multiple locations in
Brunswick Co., a new county record.

http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/dragonflies/marlpennant.htm

While we did not keep a comprehensive list, here are a few species we
found and were able to photograph:

http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/dragonflies/familiarbluet.htm

http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/dragonflies/rambursforktail.htm

http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/dragonflies/fourspottedpennant.htm

http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/dragonflies/amandaspennant.htm

http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/dragonflies/halloweenpennant.htm

http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/dragonflies/littlebluedragonlet.htm

http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/dragonflies/goldenwingedskimmer.htm

http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/dragonflies/barwingedskimmer.htm

Will and Ted managed photos of a Royal River Cruiser, which I,
unfortunately, did not see!

Additionally, we noted Common Green Darner, Mocha Emerald,  Eastern
Pondhawk, Slaty Skimmer, Widow Skimmer, Common Whitetail, Roseate
Skimmer, Blue Dasher, E. Amberwing, and both Carolina and Black
Saddlebags.

Good Dragonflying!
Jeff


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jeffrey S. Pippen
Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
Rm A-241 LSRC Bldg, Box 90328
Duke University, Durham, NC  27708
PH:
http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/nature.htm
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

hi josh in trying to re-improve the comfort zone i hope not too much 
damage was re-done. i worry about the nymphs being trampled or 
displaced. i've added pine perches back along the pond edge. put plants 
from the pond muck area within the comfort area. added an old small 
dead pine tree, dried pine needles, little sticks etc. hope this is the 
last disruption. the shadow darner laying--even on the 1st barrier [see 
flickr photo]--& eating during the activity. we're now in the process 
of digging out a very small pool where little wet-weather springs 
developed and kept part of the yard wet. because of the awful drought 
the little 'springs' hardly exist. didn't want a black plastic type of 
pool but there seemed to be no other solution. we pumped an initial 460 
gallons from a nearby little pond. more stuff to be done. hope not too 
much evaporation as i can't use water from my already low reservoir. 
not sure what plants to put in/around. frogs already there and a shadow 
darner has been watching the progress. thanks for your advice. btw what 
are their preferred food beside flying things? do odes eat japanese 
beetles? i think the nymphs can move beneath the barrier. what food are 
they interested in? can they eat little tadpoles? baby bluegill i've 
yet to net out? marlene 8/27 ps does this group have a faq place for 
such as me?

--- In se-odonata AT yahoogroups.com, Joshua Stuart Rose  wrote:

Hi Marlene - Some more natural cover might also do the trick. A brush
pile in the shallows; maybe an old Xmas tree or two; and whatever
native water, floating, or emergent plants you can find to add. This
will not completely eliminate the fish predation to the extent that
the erosion screen might, and certainly not as effectively as Nate's
suggestion of complete fish elimination, but will give larval
odonates and amphibians areas of refuge and save at least a good
proportion of them. Also it will provide good oviposition sites, and
habitat where their preferred foods should flourish.

Good luck,

Josh


Joshua Stuart Rose
1220 Kerria Ave.
McAllen TX
opihi AT ...

Duke Natural History Society
http://www.biology.duke.edu/dnhs/

--- End forwarded message ---



Marlene Mountain
http://www.marlenemountain.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marlenemountain/

hi nathan thanks for your comments & advice. we are in such a long 
drought the pond would take forever to refill. i got 2 people already 
working on a project here to improve--i hope--the barrier. we left in 
the 1st barrier and just behind it put in metal fence posts about 8' 
apart. got wider erosion cloth that comes about a foot above the water 
and has a 1-2' or more flap extending out toward the pond. various 
sizes of rocks were set all down the flap. in the process an immature 
green heron which had been shy began to perch on the top. so a 
waterproof rope was added at the top and tied to it with plastic ties 
[the dashers even perch on them] so it wouldn't bend it down too much. 
only in for a few days but the ode activity is about the same. i think 
they like it. but gee odes are expensive. marlene ps i have other 
smaller pond/pools but unfortunately added some small trout [gotten 
bigger] before the odes 'ruined' my life. my idea was to try to eat 
healthy. want to fish them out and freeze. have had a variety of 
conflicting ways to do that. so haven't yet. marlene 8/27 a couple 
photos of new barrier on my flickr site. & the heron. marlene 8/27

Marlene,

I think it is great that you have A) noticed the issue and B) are 
willing to try and mitigate it in a responsible way.

I too maintain Ode and amphibian habitat in my area.

Here are my thoughts on the matter:

It sounds like the screen might not be something that could necessarily 
withstand winter storms and other stressful events over time.� One 
little knock-down or breach could let fish in and ruin weeks or months 
of development.

Rather than worrying about the screen's integrity constantly, I would 
drain the pond (by renting a small pump if necessary) temporarily and 
let all the fish die.� But of course, I gave up fishing years ago, and 
would not miss the Bream and Bass at all.

This would also benefit your friendly neighborhood amphibians, in 
addition to the Odes.

I'm sure the neighborhood Egrets would make do...

Failing that, I would perhaps dig a small little sub-pond off to the 
side for the Odes to use.� It might be a good idea to put the sub-pond 
far enough away that flooding would not connect the two...

Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC

----- Original Message ----
From: visualmm 
To: se-odonata AT yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 1:40:15 PM
Subject: [se-odonata] tampering with nature


hi everyone. all recent odewatching and photograph attempts have been 
at an older pond
  on my land. it contains tons of little blue gill and bass. as well as 
bigger fish. they have
  been lying in wait at the edges. the snap noise often and an awful 
sound. while i was trying
  to get a third photo of green darners ovapositing the female was 
snatched away. i had an
  idea of placing an erosion-control screen along one edge. a neighbor 
installed it--100
  feet. i have no idea if it was the wrong thing to do. but it works--so 
far. the odes seem to
  know it's a safe place. except for frogs and spiders et al. i added 
some plants, leaves and
  old pine needles to make up for some that were lost in the process. i 
hope the nymphs are
  ok. there're still lots of gnat things and some tadpoles and other 
stuff within the 'comfort
  zone.' don't know how long the boards will last or whether to leave 
thru winter if they do
  last. any comments on this experiment? marlene ps you can see a photo 
of it on my flickr
  site. as well as a partially set-up photo of giff's book.

  Marlene Mountain
http://www.marlenem ountain.org
http://www.flickr. com/photos/ marlenemountain/



Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone 
who knows.
Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.
Marlene Mountain
http://www.marlenemountain.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marlenemountain/

After several days of SW winds, today they finally shifted around to out of the 
north which produced a substantial migration of Green Darners and Black 
Saddlebags. 

Gary Felton Kingwood, WV 

 
  
 
 

A friend & I enjoyed a wonderful day of birding, ode-ing and butterfly watching 
(in that order) at Bear Island & Donnelley (abbreviated to BI & D below) 
yesterday. As I'd hoped, ode numbers did pick up, but we could still see that 
they weren't what we've seen in years past - still, it was a much better 
ode-lep day than I've had in a long time, and 74 species of birds too, despite 
only 1 shorebird & 1 duck. 


 1.. Rambur's Forktail (Ischnura ramburii) - 3 (more than I've seen so far all 
year) 

  2.. Common Green Darner (Anax junius) - 7 or 8 between both places
 3.. Swamp Darner (Epiaeschna heros) - 4, plus some clear-winged large dark 
ones (Swamp or ?) at D 

  4.. Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) - only 1 (!) at D
  5.. Seaside Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax berenice) - good #s at BI
 6.. Four-spotted Pennant (Brachymesia gravida) - good #s at BI, a smattering 
at D - got some nice photos 

  7.. Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina) - 1 at D
 8.. Marl Pennant (Macrodiplax balteata) - about 8 at BI - got nice photos of 
females - males are harder to approach 

  9.. Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) - maybe 20 at D
 10.. Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) - about 10 between the 2 places, 
including a male in tandem chasing a single male! 

  11.. Carolina Saddlebags (Tramea carolina) - 1 at D, kiting into the wind
  12.. Bar-winged Skimmer (Libellula axilena) - 3 at D
  13.. Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans) - 6 between both places
  14.. Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta) - 1 at D

Also saw good #s of leps, especially Red Admirals, which seem to be our most 
numerous butterfly over the past month and many neon-colored Orange Sulphurs 
puddling at Donnelley. Also Common Buckeye, Pearl Crescent, a number of 
Monarchs moving in direct lines (migrating), the ever-present Carolina Satyrs, 
Sleepy Orange, Little Yellow, Cloudless Sulphur, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, 
Palamedes Swallowtail and many skippers, which we didn't take time to 
photograph and/or sort out. 


Sharon L. Brown
http://slbrownphoto.com

As a matter of fact, I do know of a website that might help. It's Asia 
Dragonfly, http://www.asia-dragonfly.net/

-- 
June Tveekrem
Columbia, Maryland, U.S.
damselfly|AT|southernspreadwing.com


Dennis Burnette wrote:
>  Hi folks,
>
>  I have just returned from about 10 days in the Republic of Korea
>  (South Korea) 10-19 August. Although it wasn�t specifically an ode
>  trip, I did manage to photograph several dragonflies and a couple of
>  damsels. Can anyone suggest a web site or other resource that might
>  help me identify these critters?
>
>  One species was very conspicuous, numbering in the thousands and
>  everywhere in the streets of Seoul cruising back and forth over the
>  tops of cars and around parking lots. Unfortunately, none of them
>  settled down so that I could get an image of one. It was a medium
>  size, pale amber or dull yellow, no obvious marks on the wings while
>  in flight. Any ideas?
>
>  Dennis

--
Dennis Burnette
Greensboro, NC
deburnette AT triad.rr.com


 
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As a matter of fact, I do know of a website that might help. It's Asia 
Dragonfly, http://www.asia-dragonfly.net/

-- 
June Tveekrem
Columbia, Maryland, U.S.
damselfly|AT|southernspreadwing.com


Dennis Burnette wrote:
>  Hi folks,
>
>  I have just returned from about 10 days in the Republic of Korea
>  (South Korea) 10-19 August. Although it wasn�t specifically an ode
>  trip, I did manage to photograph several dragonflies and a couple of
>  damsels. Can anyone suggest a web site or other resource that might
>  help me identify these critters?
>
>  One species was very conspicuous, numbering in the thousands and
>  everywhere in the streets of Seoul cruising back and forth over the
>  tops of cars and around parking lots. Unfortunately, none of them
>  settled down so that I could get an image of one. It was a medium
>  size, pale amber or dull yellow, no obvious marks on the wings while
>  in flight. Any ideas?
>
>  Dennis

--
Dennis Burnette
Greensboro, NC
deburnette AT triad.rr.com
_______________________________________________
Odonata-l mailing list
Odonata-l AT listhost.ups.edu
https://mailweb.ups.edu/mailman/listinfo/odonata-l

_______________________________________________
Odonata-l mailing list
Odonata-l AT listhost.ups.edu
https://mailweb.ups.edu/mailman/listinfo/odonata-l

Hi folks,

I have just returned from about 10 days in the Republic of Korea (South
Korea) 10-19 August. Although it wasn�t specifically an ode trip, I did
manage to photograph several dragonflies and a couple of damsels. Can anyone
suggest a web site or other resource that might help me identify these
critters?

One species was very conspicuous, numbering in the thousands and everywhere
in the streets of Seoul cruising back and forth over the tops of cars and
around parking lots. Unfortunately, none of them settled down so that I
could get an image of one. It was a medium size, pale amber or dull yellow,
no obvious marks on the wings while in flight. Any ideas?

Dennis
-- 
Dennis Burnette
Greensboro, NC
deburnette AT triad.rr.com

Hi Marlene - Some more natural cover might also do the trick. A brush  
pile in the shallows; maybe an old Xmas tree or two; and whatever  
native water, floating, or emergent plants you can find to add. This  
will not completely eliminate the fish predation to the extent that  
the erosion screen might, and certainly not as effectively as Nate's  
suggestion of complete fish elimination, but will give larval  
odonates and amphibians areas of refuge and save at least a good  
proportion of them. Also it will provide good oviposition sites, and  
habitat where their preferred foods should flourish.

Good luck,

Josh


Joshua Stuart Rose
1220 Kerria Ave.
McAllen TX
opihi AT mindspring.com


Duke Natural History Society
http://www.biology.duke.edu/dnhs/

Marlene,

I think it is great that you have A) noticed the issue and B) are willing to 
try and mitigate it in a responsible way. 


I too maintain Ode and amphibian habitat in my area.

Here are my thoughts on the matter:

It sounds like the screen might not be something that could necessarily 
withstand winter storms and other stressful events over time. One little 
knock-down or breach could let fish in and ruin weeks or months of development. 


Rather than worrying about the screen's integrity constantly, I would drain the 
pond (by renting a small pump if necessary) temporarily and let all the fish 
die. But of course, I gave up fishing years ago, and would not miss the Bream 
and Bass at all. 


This would also benefit your friendly neighborhood amphibians, in addition to 
the Odes. 


I'm sure the neighborhood Egrets would make do...

Failing that, I would perhaps dig a small little sub-pond off to the side for 
the Odes to use. It might be a good idea to put the sub-pond far enough away 
that flooding would not connect the two... 


Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC

----- Original Message ----
From: visualmm 
To: se-odonata AT yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 1:40:15 PM
Subject: [se-odonata] tampering with nature









  


    
 hi everyone. all recent odewatching and photograph attempts have been at an 
older pond 


on my land. it contains tons of little blue gill and bass. as well as bigger 
fish. they have 


been lying in wait at the edges. the snap noise often and an awful sound. while 
i was trying 


to get a third photo of green darners ovapositing the female was snatched away. 
i had an 


idea of placing an erosion-control screen along one edge. a neighbor installed 
it--100 


feet. i have no idea if it was the wrong thing to do. but it works--so far. the 
odes seem to 


know it's a safe place. except for frogs and spiders et al. i added some 
plants, leaves and 


old pine needles to make up for some that were lost in the process. i hope the 
nymphs are 


ok. there're still lots of gnat things and some tadpoles and other stuff within 
the 'comfort 


zone.' don't know how long the boards will last or whether to leave thru winter 
if they do 


last. any comments on this experiment? marlene ps you can see a photo of it on 
my flickr 


site. as well as a partially set-up photo of giff's book.



Marlene Mountain

http://www.marlenem ountain.org

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ marlenemountain/












       

____________________________________________________________________________________ 

Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for 
today's economy) at Yahoo! Games. 

http://get.games.yahoo.com/proddesc?gamekey=monopolyherenow  

hi everyone. all recent odewatching and photograph attempts have been at an 
older pond 

on my land. it contains tons of little blue gill and bass. as well as bigger 
fish. they have 

been lying in wait at the edges. the snap noise often and an awful sound. while 
i was trying 

to get a third photo of green darners ovapositing the female was snatched away. 
i had an 

idea of placing an erosion-control screen along one edge. a neighbor installed 
it--100 

feet. i have no idea if it was the wrong thing to do. but it works--so far. the 
odes seem to 

know it's a safe place. except for frogs and spiders et al. i added some 
plants, leaves and 

old pine needles to make up for some that were lost in the process. i hope the 
nymphs are 

ok. there're still lots of gnat things and some tadpoles and other stuff within 
the 'comfort 

zone.' don't know how long the boards will last or whether to leave thru winter 
if they do 

last. any comments on this experiment? marlene ps you can see a photo of it on 
my flickr 

site. as well as a partially set-up photo of giff's book.

Marlene Mountain
http://www.marlenemountain.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marlenemountain/

Chris,

That's a great list of species for artificial wetlands, and you're  
right that they will make up the majority of wetlands some day. :( :( :(

A recent article published in Science discussed the domesticated  
landscape of the future (http://www.nature.org/tncscience/science/ 
art21687.html), a good study, but I'm sorry it didn't make more of a  
case for leaving large parts of the world undomesticated. I guess it  
was just addressing reality.

Your very limited number of damselflies parallels what I have found  
all over the Southeast in the summer. I hope you check the ponds  
regularly next year to see if there are a lot more damsels in the  
spring.

About Eastern Pondhawks - they seem to me to be the most voracious  
dragonfly in North America, for their size. When I studied the  
odonates of southern Florida, I ended up with more records of  
Erythemis simplicicollis eating other dragonflies than all other  
anisopterans put together. They munch commonly on Blue Dashers,  
amberwings, pennants, and anything else smaller, as well as large  
numbers of damselflies. Interestingly, the females take a lot more  
large prey than the males do. They're slightly larger than males, and  
perhaps larger prey helps them build egg tissue more rapidly. I have  
walked through a marshy area, flushing tenerals of both dragons and  
damsels, and having one pondhawk after another jump up and grab  
whatever I flushed.

This is another difference between E and W Pondhawks; the latter are  
much less predatory, although they too eat a fair number of  
damselflies. I wonder if the longer, more slender abdomen of the  
eastern species makes it a more effective predator.

Dennis

On Aug 16, 2007, at 11:37 AM, Chris Hill wrote:

> You only have to cruise on Google Earth to see the reality that in my
> home county, a substantial proportion (a majority?) of all wet
> habitats are now manmade. As the swamps and Carolina bays get
> filled, every new development gets "lakes." So with a view to the
> future, here's the species list from lunchtime walks around three
> ponds near my office yesterday and today. Definitely above normal
> diversity, with starred species being special at these sites.
>
> 2 "Blue-type" Bluets (see note below)
> 3 Rambur's Forktail
> 2 Unid. damsels (I'm not so good with the females)
> 3 Common Blue Darner
> 1 Comet Darner*
> 41 Four-spotted Pennant
> 1 Red-veined Pennant*
> 3 Calico Pennant
> 23 Halloween Pennant
> 47 Eastern Pondhawk
> 1 Little Blue Dragonlet*
> 1 Slaty Skimmer
> 7 Needham's Skimmer
> 1 Marl Pennant*
> 1 Roseate Skimmer* (my first of the year)
> 8 Blue Dasher
> 3 Eastern Amberwing
> 4 Black Saddlebags
>
> Two notes about the bluet(s). First, I was looking at one with my
> newish close focus binoculars, and I can fill the frame with it and
> really start to see the cerci (if I knew what I was looking for, I
> might see it!). I remember Dennis Paulson saying that it used to be
> a great close focus glass would let you focus on your feet, and at
> that time state of the art would let you focus on your knees; well, I
> can focus these on my waistband.
>
> But Atlantic vs. Familiar remains undecided for the bluet I was
> focussing on, because, as I shifted, it moved up and hovered, and a
> Common Pondhawk flew through my field of view and grabbed it, then
> perched 6 feet away to eat it. I recall someone making an offhand
> remark on this forum that they saw few damsels on a trip, and maybe
> it was because of all the Pondhawks. At the time I wasn't sure if
> they meant "couldn't see the damsels for all the pondhawks" or "all
> the damsels probably got eaten by the pondhawks." Are Common
> Pondhawks particularly likely to eat damselflies?
>
> CH
>
> ********************************************************************** 
> **
> Christopher E. Hill
> Biology Department
> Coastal Carolina University
> Conway, SC 
> chill AT coastal.edu
> http://ww2.coastal.edu/chill/chill.htm
>
> I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.
>
> - Emerson
>
>
> 

-----
Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115

dennispaulson AT comcast.net

You only have to cruise on Google Earth to see the reality that in my  
home county, a substantial proportion (a majority?) of all wet  
habitats are now manmade.  As the swamps and Carolina bays get  
filled, every new development gets "lakes."  So with a view to the  
future, here's the species list from lunchtime walks around three  
ponds near my office yesterday and today.  Definitely above normal  
diversity, with starred species being special at these sites.

2  "Blue-type" Bluets (see note below)
3  Rambur's Forktail
2  Unid. damsels (I'm not so good with the females)
3  Common Blue Darner
1  Comet Darner*
41 Four-spotted Pennant
1  Red-veined Pennant*
3  Calico Pennant
23 Halloween Pennant
47 Eastern Pondhawk
1  Little Blue Dragonlet*
1  Slaty Skimmer
7  Needham's Skimmer
1  Marl Pennant*
1  Roseate Skimmer* (my first of the year)
8  Blue Dasher
3  Eastern Amberwing
4  Black Saddlebags

Two notes about the bluet(s).  First, I was looking at one with my  
newish close focus binoculars, and I can fill the frame with it and  
really start to see the cerci (if I knew what I was looking for, I  
might see it!).  I remember Dennis Paulson saying that it used to be  
a great close focus glass would let you focus on your feet, and at  
that time state of the art would let you focus on your knees; well, I  
can focus these on my waistband.

But Atlantic vs. Familiar remains undecided for the bluet I was  
focussing on, because, as I shifted, it moved up and hovered, and a  
Common Pondhawk flew through my field of view and grabbed it, then  
perched 6 feet away to eat it.  I recall someone making an offhand  
remark on this forum that they saw few damsels on a trip, and maybe  
it was because of all the Pondhawks.  At the time I wasn't sure if  
they meant "couldn't see the damsels for all the pondhawks" or "all  
the damsels probably got eaten by the pondhawks."  Are Common  
Pondhawks particularly likely to eat damselflies?

CH

************************************************************************
Christopher E. Hill
Biology Department
Coastal Carolina University
Conway, SC 
chill AT coastal.edu
http://ww2.coastal.edu/chill/chill.htm

I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.

                                          - Emerson

Hi ode oglers,

Just got back from a week vacationing in the corner of South Carolina  
that has a little patch of mountains (well, what we call mountains  
here in the Southeast).

I was hoping to see some of the skimmers that are lacking in my  
coastal county: Twelve spotted, Yellow sided, Spangled, and maybe  
some interesting Gomphids.  Nope.  Here's the list, though, most  
observed around the little lake we were staying on:

Common Green Darner, Anax junius
Dragonhunter, Hagenius brevistylus
Black-shouldered Spinyleg, Dromogomphus spinosus
Calico Pennant, Celithemis elisa
Banded Pennant, Celithemis fasciata
Swift Setwing, Dythemis velox
Common Pondhawk, Erythemis simplicicollis
Slaty Skimmer, Libellula incesta
Widow Skimmer, Libellula luctosa
Blue Dasher, Pachydiplax longipennis
Eastern Amberwing, Perithemis tenera
Common Whitetail, Plathemis lydia
Black Saddlebags, Tramea lacerata
Sparkling Jewelwing, Calopteryx dimidiata
Ebony Jewelwing, Calopteryx maculata
Blue-fronted Dancer, Argia apicalis
Dusky Dancer, Argia translata
Violet Dancer, Argia fumipennis violacea
Orange Bluet, Enallagma signatum
(unidentified black-type bluet)
Fragile Forktail, Ischnura posita
Swamp Spreadwing, Lestes vigilax

The violet dancers, swift setwings and dusky dancers were new to me.   
The dusky dancer is also a new county record, which surprised me -  
Oconee County, being near Clemson University and it's entomology  
program, has a fairly lengthy county list already and I didn't expect  
to add anything to it in a casual visit.  And being the one  
mountainous county, you'd think it would have gotten special  
attention on that account.

Chris


************************************************************************
Christopher E. Hill
Biology Department
Coastal Carolina University
Conway, SC 
chill AT coastal.edu
http://ww2.coastal.edu/chill/chill.htm

--- In se-odonata AT yahoogroups.com, "visualmm"  wrote:
>
> hi all i've added some recent images to my flickr site from around my place. 
mainly 

odes. 
> some unnamed & guessed at. darner & others ovapositing. a damsel leaving its 
'shell.' 

> fawns. monarch. frog. & more. recent odes in the damsel/dragon #2 folder. 
marlene 8/ 

10
>
Marlene Mountain
http://www.marlenemountain.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marlenemountain/

hi all i've added some recent images to my flickr site from around my place. 
mainly odes. 

some unnamed & guessed at. darner & others ovapositing. a damsel leaving its 
'shell.' 

fawns. monarch. frog. & more. recent odes in the damsel/dragon #2 folder. 
marlene 8/10 

I had some very good ode activity while conducting a shorebird census at the 
eastern tip of Kiawah Island, SC Saturday: 


Bluet Sp. (more than one sp.)

Green Darner (many)

Needham's Skimmer (several)

Great Blue Skimmer (several)

Common Whitetail (lots)

Eastern Pondhawk (abundant)

Four-spotted Pennant (several)

Little Blue Dragonlet (several)

Seaside Dragonlet (super-abundant)

Re: the Seaside Dragonlets - they were all over the place - I suppose a massive 
emergence must have recently occurred. Hundreds were cruising near the 
waterline on the short section of beach we visited - they were looking for sand 
flies around Sargassum weed wracks. 


Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC



       

____________________________________________________________________________________ 

Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search 
that gives answers, not web links. 
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Colleton County, SC - today.

I was primarily there for birds (what a huge number we saw!), so did not 
count all the odes I saw. The most numerous species, by far, today was 
Seaside Dragonlet. They were along all roads. There was a fair number of 
Marl Pennants on Pecan Tree Rd., but Four-spotted Pennant #s were still 
_way_ down and the only darners I saw all day were a pair of Common Green 
Darners.

Rambur's Forktail (Ischnura ramburii) - 3
Common Green Darner (Anax junius) - 2
Little Blue Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax minuscula) - 1
Seaside Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax berenice) - many
Four-spotted Pennant (Brachymesia gravida)
Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina) - 1
Marl Pennant (Macrodiplax balteata)
Carolina Saddlebags (Tramea carolina) - 3
Needham's Skimmer (Libellula needhami) - 2
Roseate Skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea) - 2

Sharon L. Brown
http://slbrownphoto.com 

Over the course of 3 pelagic birding trips out of Hatteras Inlet, NC we saw 
odes over the Gulf Stream on two days. 


Green Darner on day 1 and Needham's Skimmer on day 3.

Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC





       

____________________________________________________________________________________ 

Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story. Play 
Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games. 

http://sims.yahoo.com/  

Already have - a couple of times - but here is some detail, in case it is 
meaningful to anyone out there.

In the relatively small area I frequent in southern Charleston & eastern 
Colleton counties (SC), total dragonfly numbers this year seem down to less 
than 20% of what I was seeing 4-5 years ago, and the decrease in damselfly 
numbers seems even greater - it is nearly complete. Species numbers seem 
fairly complete with dragons, but not with damsels.

Water levels continue to be down (drought), there have been some changes in 
management (various inexplicable draw-downs at Bear Island, work on the 
ricefield dike roads at Donnelley WMA & building of a new boardwalk through 
the wetland at the Audubon Swamp Garden, for example), and then there is 
also mosquito spraying, which in this area defies everything I ever learned 
about integrated pest management. Also, since I only started seriously 
watching & photographing odes (in addition to my lifelong interest in birds) 
5-6 years ago, perhaps those first years had abnormally high numbers. I 
wouldn't know. And July is my lowest 'field time' month every year because 
it's always the poorest birding month in my area. Finally, I do not sit in 
the same area day after day - except for my own yard (which I include - 80% 
fewer dragonflies and 100% fewer damselflies) - and I do realize that 
populations can vary hugely from day to day for no apparent reason. I recall 
a day I went to the Audubon Swamp Garden without a camera () to find 
the surface of the water covered in ovipositing Common Green Darners - I 
returned the next day with cameras - same time, same weather, same place - 
to find not a single one.

So I do not pretend to understand exactly why this is happening, but the 
declines I am seeing (in birds & butterflies, which seem hardest hit, as 
well as in odes) certainly seem noteworthy, and have me warily watching, 
waiting & hoping it will pass.

August & September typically seem to be my area's biggest ode months (in 
terms of overall numbers). I'd like nothing better than to see ode numbers 
that prove me wrong over the next two months.

Sharon L. Brown
http://slbrownphoto.com 



 
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hi giff i had no idea during our brief exchange that you are the giff of the 
ode book. even 

tho i'd visited your site several times as well as amazon to look at your book. 
[my right 

frontal lobe often doesn't allow me to put 2 & 2 together.] recently richard 
visited with his 

copy--which i immediately craved and bought from him. 

it's not only a beautiful learning book. i want to express my deepest respect 
that it's good 

science ie a non-sexist book. obvious at first glance. over the years i've been 
quite 

offended by nature books and tv programs which ignore or slight the female and 
of course 

speak only of genes passed on by the male. how non-scientific i've always 
thought. as is 

the unfortunate situation of so many animals named/called by male coloration 
etc. 

[perhaps descriptions 'fair' better in latin etc--than in the common names.] 
ironically it's 

most often the identification as well as respect of the female which shows 
where one is in 

science and--if i might add--humanity. 

again my appreciation for a guide i'm proud to have and recommend. and be able 
to point 

out a rather important 'reason.' marlene 7/22

Marlene Mountain
http://www.marlenemountain.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marlenemountain/

On Jul 3, 2007, at 3:58 PM, head8230 wrote:
>
> We are interested in establishing a dragonfly pond in our back yard
> and have read different articles on the pond's design and what plants
> to use. One question we were not clear on is whether there is any way
> to expedite the process of getting new tenants if you are not near an
> established population of dragonflies. Would appreciate any advice on
> if there are any reputable sources for getting a starter colony going
> (I understand of course that they would need to be local varieties
> that are native to the area - we live in Charlotte, North Carolina).
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I agree fully with Nathan and Alex's suggestions.

You sound like you are looking for a place to buy dragonfly larvae.  
The only places I have ever heard doing this were in the pacific NW.  
They were not what I would consider "reputable", as they were not  
raising their own stock; they were netting from local ponds. Their  
target customers were fishermen using the larvae as bait, rather than  
homeowners stocking their ponds.

The best way to expedite your pond development is by collecting a  
bucket-load or three (depending on the size of your pond) of  
vegetation and detritus from the closest natural wetland. The plants  
and detritus are sure to have a valuable sample of biodiversity:  
snails, micro-crustaceans, algae, worms, assorted eggs and larvae,  
etc. Dragonfly and damselfly eggs and larvae will almost certainly be  
included, as will a variety of their prey.

A few warnings. First, of course, fill your buckets only from areas  
where it is allowed: either unregulated areas (ditches in public  
right-of-ways and many city parks do not require permits for  
collecting) or places where you can contact the owners for permission  
in advance. Second, take your samples from wetlands similar to the  
one you are constructing; organisms from running water like streams  
and rivers often cannot survive in stagnant pond water and vice  
versa, and comparing pH, degree of sun, and other elements is a good  
idea if you want to be really thorough. Make sure your detritus does  
not include a lot of mud; beneath the immediate surface, there is  
usually almost no oxygen and so almost no life beyond bacteria.

Good luck,

Josh


Joshua Stuart Rose, Ph.D.
Program Director
World Birding Center
Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park
Mission TX
http://www.worldbirdingcenter.org/sites/mission/index.phtml
 extension 236
joshua.rose AT tpwd.state.tx.us

Folks,

Around 5 pm this evening I had two emeralds along the pond. I missed 
catching both of them. Three years ago on July 15, 2004 I caught a 
Clamp-tipped Emerald, Somatochlora tenebrosa in the same spot. This 
time with two of them it made both too hard to catch and one swing at 
each was enough for them and the disappeared. Matter of fact 2004 was 
the last time I'd seen an emerald in my yard.

Oh well,

Randy Emmitt
Rougemont, NC
www.rlephoto.com
http://rlephoto.com/pblog/index.php

I live in Bayou George, FL, nw panhandle, n of Panama City, as some of 
you know.

I'm pretty observant, and the water is just across the street - a little 
dead end canal off the creek which joins another and empties Deer Point 
Lake, which is Panama City's drinking supply.

I haven't seen a decline in damsels, but I have seen a decline in 
dragons.  I'm out nosing around across the street a couple of times a 
day, and also in the evening for my last walk (which I have been a 
little leery of since my encounter with the diamondback in the front yard.

Anyway, when planning your trips, don't leave this area out.  We are 
dotted with ponds, natural and not, got creeks, springs,
hardwoods, open fields and good ditches, and we also have the beaches.  
We have a canoe livery nearby and there is no end
to the hotel/motel accommodations.

Besides, I'd love to meet you "y'all". 

Neil Lamb is the President of the Audubon Soc. here, and does ode 
surveys.  He'd like to meet you, too, I'm sure.

May

I live in Bayou George, FL, nw panhandle, n of Panama City, as some of 
you know.

I'm pretty observant, and the water is just across the street - a little 
dead end canal off the creek which joins another and empties Deer Point 
Lake, which is Panama City's drinking supply.

I haven't seen a decline in damsels, but I have seen a decline in 
dragons.  I'm out nosing around across the street a couple of times a 
day, and also in the evening for my last walk (which I have been a 
little leery of since my encounter with the diamondback in the front yard.

Anyway, when planning your trips, don't leave this area out.  We are 
dotted with ponds, natural and not, got creeks, springs,
hardwoods, open fields and good ditches, and we also have the beaches.  
We have a canoe livery nearby and there is no end
to the hotel/motel accommodations.

Besides, I'd love to meet you "y'all". 

Neil Lamb is the President of the Audubon Soc. here, and does ode 
surveys.  He'd like to meet you, too, I'm sure.

May

Clear Pond is an anomaly.  It's a natural pond on the unglaciated SC  
coastal plain.  It has a sandy bottom and clear water, where most  
every other water body around here is "blackwater" or "retention pond  
scum."  Someone from the University of Maine (!) in the 1970s, iI  
think, did a study of the pollen record in cores from Clear Pond back  
to 13,000 years before the present.  I have to read that Master's  
Thesis some day.  Anyway, in my quest to explore a few aquatic  
habitats for odes in my corner of the world, Clear Pond has been on  
my wish list for a while.

I headed out Sunday, with latitude and longitude (from  
terraserver.com) programmed into my gps.  I planned to bushwhack from  
the nearest clearing, which is much nearer than it ever was before,  
as there's a new massive subdivision being put in in that area.  As  
others have noted before me, if you're a natural feature and your  
name appears on a neighborhood ("Pondfield," "Clearwater," "Egret  
Roost") your span of existence has probably come to its end.  Clear  
Pond estates.  Not good.  Anyway, it turned out I could get within  
1/8 of a mile by driving into the new "neighborhood" (roads, road  
signs, housing sites, but no houses yet) on a Sunday, when the heavy  
equipment was sleeping.  A quick bushwhack and I was on a dirt road  
which led me to the pond.

My first idyllic misconceptions were quickly dispelled.  Of *course*  
it would have garbage around the entire perimeter.  There were also  
two ten-year old boys snorkling and chasing turtles - good for them!   
(although the grumpy old man in me didn't like to see that they'd  
gotten there on a golf cart rather than a bicycle of by foot).  But  
then to the odes.  I circumnavigated slowly, with a net, some close  
focus binoculars and other accoutrements.

Swamp Spreadwing - 1 female

Turquoise Bluets- 2 males
Southern Sprites - 12
Fragile Forktails - 2
Citrine Forktail - 1

Comet Darner - 4

Common Whitetail - 1
Common Pondhawk - 20?  I kept poor notes.
Blue Dasher - 3
Carolina Saddlebags - 2;  One patrolling, chasing the Comet Darners  
(!).  Another put in a brief appearance.
Golden-winged Skimmer - 6
Faded Pennant - 15
Amanda's Pennant - 1
Red-veined Pennant - 1
Little Blue Dragonlet - 1

Highlights were the Turquoise Bluets (I know they're common in the  
right habitat, but I'm never in that habitat), the Sprites, the small  
Pennants, and the Comet Darners.  I run into Comet Darners every so  
often, but they're always flying, and never close (very hard to put a  
net on, though I finally did a year or two ago, for a county  
record).  These were patrolling up and down the shore and would pass  
me by, 6-10 feet away, over and over again.  It was nice also to feel  
like I'm finally to the point with local spreadwings that I could  
confidently and quickly identify this one as a female Swamp.

It's only the second place in the county I've found the sprites, the  
faded and Amanda's and red-veined pennants, and the first pond with  
Turquoise Bluets.  So no new county records for me, but a nice  
assortment of seldom-seen odes nonetheless.

I think at this point, while I haven't exhausted the lentic  
environments of the county completely, I'm going to have to spend  
some serious time at some rivers trying to get my net on some of the  
cruisers and clubtails that fly around out of reach for me to add  
much new.  Or go out at night?

CH

If you want to see the site (before the big clearing happened) these  
coordinates and google maps should get you there:

' N78 57.20' W



************************************************************************
Christopher E. Hill
Biology Department
Coastal Carolina University
Conway, SC 
chill AT coastal.edu
http://ww2.coastal.edu/chill/chill.htm

Sometimes in this game, you have to try easier.  - Matt Williams, on  
baseball

Dennis,

Everyone,

I was in error on the date in Ohio May 26th which 
should have been well into the season and a 
beautiful day. I found a Twelve-spotted Skimmer 
along the Ohio River an hour later. Also did real 
well in West Virginia later in the afternoon. The 
week before I did well at some ponds I found in the hills above the Ohio River.

Randy Emmitt
Durham, NC
www.rlephoto.com
http://rlephoto.com/pblog/index.php Nature blog!


At 08:01 PM 7/11/2007, Dennis Paulson wrote:
>Randy,
>
>I suspect your low odonate tally in Ohio was 
>probably due to the season. April is a bit early 
>for most species even in the southern part of 
>Ohio. Butterflies become common in Washington 
>well before we have many dragonflies flying. 
>I'll be in Ohio next week, and I'm very curious 
>to see how the odes are doing there in mid 
>summer. According to the Glotzhober and 
>McShaffrey book, most of the damselflies should be flying now.
>
>Dennis
>
>
>On Jul 11, 2007, at 4:21 PM, Randy Emmitt wrote:
>
>>
>>Folks,
>>
>>I noticed this same think back in April 2007 in 
>>Southern Ohio. I stopped at several places 
>>along Scioto Brush Creek, in what looked like 
>>great habitat. After 5-6 stops I saw nothing in 
>>the way of a single odonate. One spot have 
>>maybe 60 tiger swallowtails quite impressive, 
>>still no odes. Finally on a feeder creek I 
>>found two Common Whitetails and a single Ebony 
>>Jewelwing along a 1/4 mile of shoreline.
>>
>>Oh a brighter note I had several Wandering 
>>Gliders in a Durham, NC lumber yard today and 
>>in Wake Co, NC in a shopping center parking lot I had two Spot-winged 
Gliders. 

>>
>>Cheers,
>>
>>Randy Emmitt
>>Durham, NC
>>www.rlephoto.com
>>http://rlephoto.com/pblog/index.php 
>>Nature blog!
>>
>>
>>
>>At 08:42 AM 7/11/2007, Hal White wrote:
>>>Dennis,
>>>
>>>The statement below is about the disappearance of damselflies that I
>>>posted to the Ode listserve five years ago on July 8, 2002 in response
>>>to similar comments you made about the dearth of Odonates at some
>>>attractive habitats in West Virginia. What I said in 2002, I could say
>>>today. This was at a pond that never dries up, so drought isn't the
>>>whole story.
>>>
>>>If this is a demise of damselflies, it needs to be documented and
>>>studied more systematically. I suspect it has relatively less to do with
>>>climate change and a whole more lot to do with fouling our environment.
>>>Sounds to me like a parallel to Silent Spring except we don't know the
>>>cause and fewer people care enough about bugs now than did about song
>>>birds then. Are there any graduate students out there looking for thesis
>>>projects?
>>>
>>>Hal
>>>---
>>>(July 8, 2002) Where have all the Zygops gone, long time passing�
>>>
>>>Almost exactly 23 years ago, I spent a day collecting at Trap Pond State
>>>Park in southern Delaware. This past weekend, I returned for a couple of
>>>hours of collecting hoping to find Enallagma pallidens and E. dubium
>>>(Pale and Burgundy Bluets), southern species that I had last found there
>>>in 1979 and 1991, respectively.  Not only were those species absent, I
>>>hardly saw any Zygoptera! I saw 5 individuals of 4 normally common
>>>species and none were Enallagmas. In 1979, I collected or saw 15 species
>>>of Zygoptera, including 9 species of Enallagma, some of which were
>>>common. I did not notice a great difference in the diversity or numbers
>>>of Anisoptera except that Libellula luctuosa (Widow Skimmer) and
>>>Celithemis eponina (Halloween Pennant), which were not seen in 1979, are
>>>fairly common now.
>>>
>>>While it is certainly true that I did not spend a whole day like I did
>>>in 1979, which might explain my missing a few species, I think the
>>>conclusion that damselflies are much less apparent now than in 1979 is
>>>inescapable. The cause is difficult to pin down with certainty, but I
>>>suspect it is linked in some way to agricultural runoff that has led to
>>>eutrophication of many aquatic habitats in the area, particularly in the
>>>last decade. The pond now experiences tremendous algal blooms in which
>>>the algae is physically removed by harvesters. One consequence is that
>>>the pond closed its swimming beach several years ago. I also notice that
>>>certain types of aquatic vegetation, e.g. lily pads, which were common,
>>>are missing. The pond still supports fish and fishermen. At least two
>>>species of large freshwater bivalves are common. Crayfish are present.
>>>Whatever the effect is on Zygoptera, it hasn't greatly affected
>>>Anisoptera and several other groups of aquatic organisms.
>>>
>>>Have others noticed this pattern? Does anyone have an idea about why
>>>Zygoptera, as a group, might be preferentially affected? Do algae
>>>produce toxins that affect Zygoptera, but not Anisoptera? Are there
>>>pesticides found in agricultural runoff that have differential suborder
>>>toxicity?
>>>
>>>Hal White
>>>
>>>
>>>Dennis Paulson wrote:
>>> > Thanks, Hal.
>>> >
>>> > I suspect drought plays a big part in the abysmally small number of
>>> > odonates of all kinds we saw during the Southeastern DSA meeting in sw
>>> > Georgia. One thing I've found on several recent trips is that
>>> > damselflies are virtually absent from the southeastern coastal plain in
>>> > June and July. I saw <100 Enallagma of only 4 species in 2 weeks on two
>>> > different trips to north Florida and south Georgia, in the field
>>> > constantly. I. posita and ramburii were both rare, in fact I saw more
>>> > kellicotti. Lestes were virtually nonexistent. I don't think that was
>>> > the case when I was active in that area in the mid 1960s, and my field
>>> > notes bear that out. It's quite perplexing and disheartening. After this
>>> > recent trip, I'm now thinking that odonates are in a lot more trouble
>>> > than I had realized. Stream damselflies (Calopteryx, Argia) were present
>>> > in greater numbers, perhaps as many as normal in some areas.
>>> >
>>> > Dennis
>>> >
>>> > On Jul 5, 2007, at 5:37 AM, Hal White wrote:
>>> >
>>> >> Dennis, Several species of Lestes (australis, forcipatus, congener)
>>> >> that used to be regulars at local vernal ponds have virtually
>>> >> disappeared on the Delmarva Peninsula since a drought we had 4-5 years
>>> >> ago. The ponds were essentially dry for about 13 months. Sympetrum
>>> >> ambiguum, also from those sites, is just coming back. Hal
>>> >>
>>> >> Dennis Paulson wrote:
>>> >>
>>> >>> For those who aren't familiar with this website, it's a reminder of
>>> >>> where we should expect drought conditions on our Odonata field trips
>>> >>> in the United States. It seems everywhere I go in the last decade is
>>> >>> going into or just getting out of drought conditions. It wasn't that
>>> >>> way several decades ago. We should be talking about "global drying,"
>>> >>> and this is something that surely will have profound effects on
>>> >>> odonate populations. I've seen that already in the Pacific Northwest.
>>> >>> We are out of a drought period now, and it will be interesting to see
>>> >>> if species return that disappeared from large areas of shallow ponds
>>> >>> that dried up for several years.
>>> >>> 
>>> 
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html 

>>> >>> -----
>>> >>> Dennis Paulson
>>> >>> 1724 NE 98 St.
>>> >>> Seattle, WA 98115
>>> >>>
>>> >>> dennispaulson AT comcast.net 
>>> <mailto:dennispaulson AT comcast.net>
>>> >>> 
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>>>     (Yahoo! ID required)
>>>
>>>     mailto:se-odonata-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com
>>>
>>>
>-----
>Dennis Paulson
>1724 NE 98 St.
>Seattle, WA 98115
>
>dennispaulson AT comcast.net
>
>