Common Dragonflies and Damselflies of Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge
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Suspected Species in Chambers County, Texas Facts about Dragonflies and Damselflies U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Damselflies Dragonflies, Continued The symbol of a healthy wetland, dragonflies SPREADWINGS CRUISERS and damselflies have been on this planet for Southern Spreadwing* Royal River Cruiser* about 300 million years. Their ancestors flew Elegant Spreadwing Anahuac EMERALDS during an age where the earth was covered in Swamp Spreadwing Smoky Shadowdragon giant plants and swamps - the Carboniferous POND DAMSELS Common Baskettail Period. Back then, they were as big as today’s National Wildlife Blue-ringed Dancer Slender Baskettail birds and had wingspans of almost three Blue-fronted Dancer* Prince Baskettail* feet. Refuge Powdered Dancer SKIMMERS Blue-tipped Dancer* Common Whitetail Today they are much smaller but just as Seepage Dancer Blue Corporal incredible. Both the adult and the larvae hunt Aztec Dancer Painted Skimmer Variable Dancer and eat insects, including an average of 100 Common Dragonflies & Twelve-spotted Skimmer* mosquitoes per day. They need to be fast and Kiowa Dancer* Widow Skimmer Burgundy Bluet Bar-winged Skimmer agile. Adult dragonflies are the fastest-flying Damselflies Orange Bluet* Great Blue Skimmer* insect in the world - recorded flying at 35 Vesper Bluet Slaty Skimmer* miles per hour. Double-striped Bluet Golden-winged Skimmer Familiar Bluet Needham’s Skimmer* What is the difference between a dragonfly Big Bluet* Roseate Skimmer* and a damselfly? One difference is that Stream Bluet Eastern Amberwing* Skimming Bluet dragonflies generally hold their wings Four-spotted Pennant* spread open - either flat or folded down, Slender Bluet Ornate Pennant Rambur’s Forktail* Calico Pennant whereas damselflies generally hold their Citrine Forktail* Banded Pennant wings pinched closed. Lilypad Forktail Halloween Pennant* Fragile Forktail* Red-tailed Pennant* Both are largely undocumented at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. Use this checklist Dragonflies Great Pondhawk* Eastern Pondhawk* as a start, but don’t be surprised if you find PETALTAILS Little Blue Dragonlet something new. Gray Petaltail* Seaside Dragonlet* DARNERS Band-winged Dragonlet* If you get a good picture, try uploading it to Common Green Darner* Variegated Meadowhawk* a citizen science site. It helps us understand Comet Darner Blue-faced Meadowhawk what species we have! Swamp Darner* Blue Dasher* Thornbush Dasher Regal Darner For More Information Contact Cyrano Darner Swift Setwing Hyacinth Glider* Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge CLUBTAILS Red Saddlebags* P.O. Box 278, 4017 FM 563 Sulphur-tipped Clubtail Carolina Saddlebags Anahuac, TX 77514 Oklahoma Clubtail Black Saddlebags* Ashy Clubtail Wandering Glider 409/267-3337 Bayou Clubtail Spot-winged Glider 409/267-4314 Fax Jade Clubtail Marl Pennant* www.fws.gov/refuge/Anahuac Gulf Coast Clubtail Russet-tipped Clubtail * Documented on the refuge Two-striped Forceptail Broad-striped Forceptail* Common Sanddragon Black-shouldered Spinyleg Images © Tripp Davenport, © Sara Ruth Harrison, © Kathy Berrier, © Joe Blackburn, Alan Schmierer, Flag-tailed Spinyleg Sheila Brown, and USFWS. Dragonhunter Eastern Ringtail June 2020 Black Saddlebags Four-spotted Pennant Roseate Skimmer Female Male Female Male Female Blue Dasher Halloween Pennant Seaside Dragonlet Male Female Male Female Male Female Green Darner Needham’s Skimmer Variegated Meadowhawk Male Female Male Female Male Eastern Amberwing Red Saddlebags Citrine Forktail Male Female Male Female Male Eastern Pondhawk Fragile Forktail Rambur’s Forktail Male Female Male Male Female.