A publication of the M ichigan O donata Survey

V olu me 9 Issu e 1
Winter 20 0 5

W i l l i a m s o n i a

C anada D arner w ith unusual thorax pattern

Julie C raves University of M ichigan-D earborn jac@ rrbo.org

fter attending an ornithological m eeting in G rayling (C raw ford C o.) on 28 Aug

A_{2004, I had a little bit of tim e to hunt for odonata before heading back hom e.}

C onsulting a m ap, I chose to explore H ow e’s Lake, a sm all sandy lake north of M -72 w est of G rayling. There w asn’t a lot actually plying the lake itself, but the w et, grassy depressions near the lake shore had several species of Lestes, Saffon-w inged M eadow haw k (Sym petrum costiferum , a county record), and quite a few Aeshna’s patrolling lazily or ovipositing in the shallow w ater.

I netted a few C anada D arners (Aeshna canadensis), and som e Black-tipped D arners (A. tuberculifera, county record). It appeared that all the blue darners at the site w ere these tw o species, until I netted one w ith broken thoracic stripes, w hich I took to be a V ariable D arner (A. interrupta). W hen I returned hom e to sort through the specim ens, I turned this specim en over, I found that the other side of the thorax w as the standard C anada D arner pattern. A closer exam ination revealed that this w as indeed canadensis in all other characters, except that one side of the thorax.

Top: The side of the thorax with the broken stripes. Bottom: The side with typical A. canadensis pattern.

W hile I’ve found little on this phenom ena in the literature, it is apparently not w ithout precedent. For m e it underscores the im portance of actually collecting specim ens – or in the least netting them and carefully exam ining them in the hand – in order to verify the identity. Even if I had seen this individual perched, I w ould have m isidentified it had I only seen the one side (V ariable D arner w ould have been a county record). This interesting specim en is in m y personal reference collection.

INSIDE:

2004 dragonflying in M ecosta C o.

Twin-spotted Spiketail: sight record for W ayne Co.

Stephen Ross Rodney, M I

ID of Epitheca costalis

seross@ tucker-usa.com

o say the least, dragonflying in M ecosta C ounty during 2004 w as BO R -ring. It seem s this w as a fairly m iserable year statew ide. M y date range ran from April 16 for

T

the first C om m on G reen D arner (Anax junius) and ended Novem ber 9 w ith the last few Autum n
(Yellow -legged) M eadow haw ks (Sym petrum vicinum ) succum bing to the cold. This w as the first year w ithout m y finding a county record since I began w orking the county in 1998. The closest to a record w as col-

(Continued on page 2)

• Williamsonia
• P age 2

M ecosta C o., cont.

finding sixteen species, w ith several being conspicuously

(Continued from page 1)

lacking. W hile w e found m ost of the usual suspects, both of us rem arked on how few of each species w ere present. I also canoed the sam e sections on July 23 w ith Pat C ady and found the stream odonate fauna rem arkably lacking, finding only a few individuals of each of ten species. A trip dow n the M uskegon from Paris to Big R apids on July 20 found only sm all num bers of six species of dam sels. The only dragonfly w as one D ragonhunter (H agenius brevistylus). Several G om phids, M acrom ia, and Stylurids should have been observed. lecting the first adult C yrano D arner (N asiaeschna pentacantha) for the county. O ne had been photographed in June 1998 and a larval record w as collected in 1999.

I visited the tw o R inged Boghaunter (W illiam sonia lintneri) sites four tim es in late April and early M ay on the few w arm days that occurred during that tim e. None w ere found, nor w ere any in 2003. D ip netting for larvae here produced only a few underdeveloped Libellulids. I’m not sure enough is know n about W . lintneri to be w orried that these sites have lost their populations; perhaps they are just cyclical and can arrest developm ent until conditions are right.
In the UP, I had som ew hat better luck, during m y third survey of the O ttaw a National Forest for the Forest Service. This year I w as w orking the Three C orners V egetative M anagem ent Project w here O ntonagon, Iron, and G ogebic counties com e together. Through the haze of deerflies, m osquitoes, and the ticks craw ling through m y clothes, I found tw o of the eight target species. O ne, the M idland C lubtail (G om phus fraternus), seem ed to be at peak of em ergence, w ith about 150 observed in roadside and open areas along the O ntonagon R iver. Five O cellated Em eralds

(Som atochlora m inor) w ere also

found am ong the alders and sedge
Though the lakes w ere periodically good, for the m ost part, they seem ed lacking and the hatches later than expected. H anna Lake, w here I logged 26 species in about tw o hours in 2003, w as quite disappointing this year on three visits, eleven species being the highest num ber found. The one exception w as a July 21 visit to Tow nline Lake w here an em ergence of

Enallagm as w as going on. E. carunculatum , E traviatum , E. hageni,

and E. gem inatum w ere found good num bers. O therw ise, I found lake and nearby open areas around the county to be significantly dim inished from past visits. m eadow s of M cG inty C reek. I also caught several Subarctic Bluets

(Coenagrion interrogatum ) a county

record for Iron C ounty and one of the few tim es this species has been captured in the UP.
The stream s, such as the M uskegon and Little M uskegon R iver, and a m odest stream I visit in C olfax Tow nship, w ere seem ingly devoid of odes this year. The county experienced considerably m ore rain than usual this spring, and tem peratures w ere cool, resulting in stream s over their banks w ell into June. I agree w ith M ark O ’Brien’s contention that m uch of the stream odonate fauna m ay have been w ashed dow nstream , killed in the process or becam e food for fish.

In case you were wondering, “Where in the heck is Mecosta Co.?”

Though butterfly collecting during this year seem ed to be w orse than dragonfly collecting, I located eight lep records for the UP w hile doing m y odonate survey. These w ere C anada Sw allow tail (Papilio Canadensis), Little W ood Satyr (M egisto cym ela), Silvery C heckerspot (Chlosyne nycteis), Inornate R inglet

(Coenonym pha tullia inornata), M onarch (D anaus plexippus), H o-

bom ok Skipper (Poanes hobom ock), D ream y D uskyw ing

(Erynnis icelus), and Taw ny-edged Skipper (Polites them istocles).

C arl Freem an and I canoed the Little M uskegon on June 18,
C loser to hom e, I participated in the BioBlitz at C hippew a Nature C enter on Septem ber 18. D ragonflies w ere also conspicuously absent here, especially Aeshnids, despite very good habitats for ode hunting. The best find w as a county record of a C alico Pennant (Celthem is elisa) w hich w as also a significantly late record. The area of the confluence of the Pine and C hippew a R ivers did hold a num ber of Am erican R ubyspots (H etaerina am ericana) and Pow dered D ancers

(Argia m oesta).

W illiam sonia

P age 3

T w in-spotted Spiketail: N ew sight record for Wayne C ounty and a record late date

Allen C hartier am azilia1@ com cast.net

he Tw in-spotted Spiketail (Cordulegaster m aculata) has been recorded from m ost of the UP and northern LP

T_{counties in M ichigan, and from about a third of the southern LP counties (14), including six in the southeast}

(M O S w ebsite). O n the cool m orning (58° F, ~9:00 AM EST) of 22 Aug 2004, w hile checking m ist nets at m y bird banding station in a closed area of Lake Erie M etro Park, W ayne C o., I encountered a Tw in-spotted Spiketail hunting over an open grassy field surrounded by shrub, hedgerow , and w oodland. Initially, I thought it w as the C anada D arner (Aeshna canadensis) that I had seen a short tim e earlier. But, w hen it landed near m e I im m ediately saw the paired yellow triangular spots on the abdom en and I suspected it w as a Cordulegaster instead, but I w asn’t sure w hich species. I got m y digital cam - era out of the car and took a few photos, hoping to identify it w hen I got hom e, as I had no dragonfly references handy. D ue to the tem perature, it w as very cooperative. I then turned m y attention back to the bird I needed to band at that m om ent. I did not take the spiketail as a specim en because I had no w ay to keep it from getting dam - aged, and m y purpose this day w as bird banding, not dragonfly collecting. I determ ined the species once I got hom e, and also determ ined that it w as a m ale. C olor photos of this individual can be view ed on m y w ebsite at: w w w .am azilia.net/im ages/Inverts/O donata/C ordulegaster_m aculata.htm .

The flight period for the Tw in-spotted Spiketail in our region is described as late M ay through the end of July (H older 1996, Legler 1998, M ead 2003), and to early August in New H am pshire (D unkle 2000). This is likely a record late date in our region, and possibly w ithin the entire range of the species.

M ead (2003) describes the habitat for C. m aculata as “clean, clear stream s and sm all rivers in w ooded areas…” To the w est of the site (w ithin 0.25 m ile) is an area of freshw ater m arsh that drains south into the H uron R iver, and to the south of the site (also w ithin 0.25 m ile) is a w ooded creek near the Pte. M ouillee State G am e Area H eadquarters w hich also drains southeast into the m outh of the H uron R iver. M ore freshw ater m arsh and a stream (not w ooded) that drains into Lake Erie occurs to the east of the site. To the north is an open w oodland, and a golf course is to the northw est. It seem s possible that stream s in this area could have provided breeding habitat for the species, though it seem s equally possible that this individual w as sim ply a very tardy vagrant.

Literature C ited D unkle, S. 2000. D ragonflies through Binoculars. O xford University Press. New York, NY. H older, M . 1996. The D ragonflies and D am selflies of Algonquin Provincial Park. Algonquin Park Tech. Bull. No. 11. Friends of Algonquin Park.

Legler, K and D . and D . W estover. 1998. C olor G uide to C om m on D ragonflies of W isconsin. M ead, K . 2003. D ragonflies of the North W oods. K ollath-Stensaas Publishers, D uluth, M N.

Ed. note: C anada D arner w ould also be a county record; there are currently only old literature records. Allen’s C anada w as not netted or photographed, so this species rem ains unverified for the county.

• Williamsonia
• P age 4

T ips and tricks of the trade

A continuation in our series...

pecimen boxes. For specim en boxes in the field, I use M axalt cases. M ax-

S_{alt is a m igraine headache m edicine. I get m y boxes from a pharm acist.}

They com e in tw o sizes, and the w ider one w ill hold about three or four large or eight m id-sized dragonflies in standard glassine envelopes, or about a dozen dam sels. The boxes are slightly curved so they fit your pocket w ell.

Another specim en box I have found recently is C abella’s m edium size fly box (#TR -31-5614 003 for $4.99 each, 2004 spring-sum m er fly fishing catalog). It m easures 5 3/8 by 3 3/4 by 1 3/8 inches (there is also a size sm aller and a size larger box available). This w ill hold about 15-20 specim ens w ithout crow ding. Though I have not used this yet, it fits nicely in the pocket of field pants and the field shirt described below . They com e w ith glued-in Styrofoam inserts that can be cleanly rem oved w ith a little effort. – Stephen R oss, M ecosta C o., M I

This year’s

ield shirts. I have long been looking for a good field shirt. I have obtained

F_{several from such outfits as TravelSm ith, C olum bia, and C abella’s. All}

have one problem : breast pocket flaps that w ill not fit over or close on a field notebook. C abella’s sells the Ultim ate G uide shirt in their 2004 springsum m er fly fishing catalog w ith pockets that are large enough for a R ite-inthe-R ain notebook and the C abella’s fly box m entioned above. These sell for $49.95 (#TR -90-2551) and com e in several colors. They also have zippered com partm ents below the pockets. (D on’t confuse this w ith their regular G uide shirt, w hich has the sm aller pockets). If you don’t m ind looking like a fisherm an, this is the shirt. – Stephen R oss, M ecosta C o., M I

first-of-season Common Green Darner was seen by Margi
Chriscinske on April 9 in Ann
Arbor.

handy lens. A hand lens is an essential tool to identify m any odes in the

A_{hand. Fishing around for a hand lens in your pack is a pain. I solved this}

problem by purchasing a retractable cord used for corporate nam e badges, available at office supply stores. O ne end is attached to m y pack, the other to the hand lens. Thus, the lens is alw ays handy and can’t get lost. – Julie C raves, W ayne C o., M I

o sw eat. This tip is not specifically for those w orking w ith odes, but

N_{can apply to any field w ork in hot w eather. I recently attended the m e-}

m orial service for the father of a friend. Attendees w ere rem inded of Sterling C um m ing’s m any novel habits. O ne w as preventing a dam p forehead and unsightly stains on his hat w hile w orking outdoors by applying a thin, absorbent, disposable, adhesive-backed pad to the inside of the sw eat band of his hats. These item s are usually m arketed as w om en’s pantyliners, but obviously have other practical uses for those w ho like to think out of the box. – Julie C raves, W ayne C o., M I

• Williamsonia
• P age 5

Book R eview : D amselflies of A lberta – Flying N eon T oothpicks in the G rass

D am selflies of Alberta – Flying N eon Toothpicks in the G rass, by John Acorn. 2004. 156 pp.,

softcover, University of Alberta Press (w w w .uap.ualberta.ca); ISBN 0-88864-419- 1. ($29.95 C anadian).

I truly enjoy reading an entom ology book w ritten w ith enthusiasm about the subject, and m oreover, that dam selflies are the subject m akes it even m ore attractive. John Acorn is an entom ologist in Alberta. H e’s one of those figures in m y profession that pop up now and then w ith an interesting article on the life history of an insect, or a new book about som e related subjects. Until recently, I did not realize that he w as also an avid odonatologist. John has authored “D am selflies of Alberta – Flying N eon Toothpicks in the G rass,” and the book, like its subjects in the title, is a gem . John is the anti-Needham . H e w rites w ith hum or and honesty, and despite the sim plicity of the m ain title, this is no m undane listing of the critters from a region w ith m aps and photos. In m any respects, he m akes the reader feel as though he w ere on a field trip, as the text is not the least bit dry. The introductory chapters on biology, ecology, and behavior are very w ell w ritten, fun to read, and are probably som e of the best w ritten generalized accounts on dam selflies that I have read. I can only find a couple of faults – in several photos, the im ages look pixelated, so I am guessing that som e low -resolution versions of photographs w ere enlarged.

There are only 22 species of Z ygoptera in Alberta – it’s a lot farther north than M ichigan, and a lot of species that w e have drop out before they get that far north. For a sm all fauna, there have been a num ber of characters in Alberta that have studied them , and the author has a nice historical section on the people that have w orked there. Follow ing that is a really nice section on how to study dam selflies. H e’s sensitive to those that do not w ant to collect, but obviously, he m akes a good case for w hy w e should take specim ens.

The section w ith species accounts is also easy to use, and contains a great deal of inform ation from data gathered in Alberta on behavior, physiology, and ecology. The m aps show Alberta and North Am erica separately, so one gets a feel for the entire range of a species, not just w here it is in one C anadian province. Each species’ synopsis has a pronunciation guide, identification tips, etym ology, ecology, notes on that species, and of course, a color photograph. A supplem ental key is w ritten for easy reading, and is very w ell done. A glossary and references round out the latter part of the book. But w ait--- there’s m ore. At the very end is a gallery of illustrations show ing dorsal view s of the species in all their various color m orphs, as w ell as a selected group of m ale claspers. As m any of you now know , m any species of O donata have different color phases, w hich change as the insects m ature, and of course, w ill also differ betw een the sexes.

The D am selflies of Alberta is an enjoyable book. It w ill introduce you to the sm all w orld of dam selflies, and the larger role that they play in ecosystem s. John Acorn’s account of their biology and distribution in Alberta is not at all provincial. There are m any gem s to gleam from his prose, and I highly recom m end this book. It is m y surprise read for 2005. — R eview by M ark O ’Brien, Insect D ivision, M useum of Z oology, University of M ichigan, Ann Arbor, M I 48109-1079.

Ed. N ote: M ark om its w hat m ight be the m ost unusual aspect of this book. Each species account begins w ith an original lim erick. I’m not saying they are great, but they sure are different! — J.A.C .

• Williamsonia
• P age 6

O do-blogging

Perhaps it’s faddish, but M ark O ’Brien and Julie C raves — both desperate to appear young and hip — have joined the blogging craze, each by establishing online w eb logs (“blogs”) devoted to odonata. M ark’s is entitled M ichigan O donotes (http://m ichodo.blogspot.com ), and focuses on M ichigan odonata and (even flim sily) related topics. Julie, authoring under the alias “Nannothem is” along w ith her husband D arrin O ’Brien (m asquerading as “Stylurus”), is chronicling her adventures in search of odes in U rban D ragon H unters (http://urbanodes.blogspot.com ). She’s already blogged about insects in Texas, so don’t expect her to stick to her geographic focus.

A quick survey of blog search engines revealed that there are few blogs about insects, and apparently M ichigan O donotes and Urban D ragon H unters are the only ones out there show casing odonata. An exam ination of com m on blog-topic searches also revealed that nobody is looking for blogs on odonata, either (although one search engine show ed 6,811 inquiries on crayfish). But never m ind that! C learly, M ark and Julie are trendsetters. Surf on over, take a look, and leave encouraging com m ents!

• Williamsonia
• P age 7

H ow to identify Epitheca costalis

M ark O ’Brien

abdom inal segm ent, but that species has a sm all spine on the cercus, w hich is quite obvious w ith a hand lens. The figures below (Fig. 1) illustrate the differences. M ales of E. canis are easiest to distinguish on the basis of genitalia, since the cerci look like a dog’s head in profile.