THE BOGHAUNTER Occasional News About the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Vermont Volume 3 • Number 2 In color online at: www.vermontbirdtours.com/boghaunter Spring 2004 The Fab Five: Vermont’s Next Odes
By Mike Blust when. That is the rationale t’s mid June. Mosquitoes buzz in your behind this ear as you slog through a shrubby I article – to wetland bordering a swampy area. A increase our large dragonfly zips out from the trees awareness on and back in again. At the same time, a the eve of a brilliant green spreadwing damsel flutters new field past. Which do you pursue? season. In the There is no wrong answer, of course, spirit of fun, because all records are valuable. They The contribute to our knowledge of odonate Boghaunter range and abundance – both in space and asked me to time. BUT! If you knew that the date and predict the
habitat were just right for Epiaeschna next five heros (Swamp Darner), and if you knew species to be that Epiaeschna heros had never before encountered in been recorded in Vermont, and if you Vermont.
knew that the likelihood of that What’s here Jackie Sones spreadwing damsel being a new state that hasn’t yet Cordulegaster obliqua (Arrowhead Spiketail) record was almost nil – would that been dis - influence your decision? covered. I things work to the point where we can agreed to the task, knowing that my own Although there is always an element of make educated predictions about the “awareness factor” would be greatly luck, people with the most interesting future. So, how does one attempt to enhanced in the process. discoveries often succeed because they’ve predict the next species to be found in done their homework. They know in One of the primary goals of science is to Vermont? advance what to watch for, where, and improve our understanding of the way (Continued on page 2) Big Turnout Expected For DSA Meeting
By Bryan Pfeiffer Here’s a tentative agenda for the DSA meeting: Odonatists from as far away as Virginia and Maine will converge Thursday, June 24 – DSA members convene in Hartford, either at on Hartford, Vermont, for a regional gathering of the Dragonfly free reserved campsites at Quechee State Park or at local motels. (Directions and motel information is on the web site.) Group supper. Society of the Americas from June 24-27. Friday, June 25 – Collecting trips to various locations in the Details on collecting outings, food, lodging and evening Connecticut River Valley, including checks for Gomphus vastus (Cobra Clubtail) and Neurocordulia yamaskanensis (Stygian presentations are falling into place. There is still time to register Shadowdragon). Evening speaker: Mark McPeek will cover 10 before the June 7 deadline. Details are at
Page 2 THE BOGHAUNTER Volume 3 • Number 2 Coenagrionidae Lestidae Calopteryigidae Libellulidae Corduliidae Macromiidae Cordulegastridae Gomphidae Aeshnidae Petaluridae
Family
Argia Ischnura Enallagma Enallagma Calopteryx Sympetrum Leucorrhinia Tramea Celethemis Libellula (Ladona) Libellula Williamsonia Somatochlora Neurocordulia Neurocordulia Cordulegaster Stylurus Ophiogomphus Ophiogomphus Progomphus Gomphus Gomphus Aeshna Aeshna Nasiaeshna Epiaeshna
Genus
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translata hastata laterale divigans dimidiata corruptum patricia carolina fasciata deplanata vibrans linteri incurvata michaeli obsoleta obliqua amnicola colubrinus anamolus obscurus fraternus abreviatus mutata juncea pentacantha heros species
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The Vermont Watch List
Dusky Dancer Citrine Forktail New England Bluet Turquoise Bluet Sparkling Jewelwing Varigated Meadowhawk Canada whiteface Carolina Saddlebags Banded Pennant Blue Corporal Great Blue Skimmer Ringed Boghaunter Incurvate Emerald Broad Umber Shadowdragon Arrowhead Spiketail Riverine Clubtail Boreal Snaketail Extra Common Sanddragon Midland Clubtail Spine Spatterdock Darner Sedge Darner Cyrano Darner Swamp Darner - Common Name - - striped Snaketail crowned Clubtail tailed Shadowdragon —
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XX
— — — M When To Look
X XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX — — — J
X X X X X X X X
X X X X X XX XX X X XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX — — XX — J X
X X X X XX XX XX XX XX XX XX — — — A
X — — — S
Southern Western and Southern Southern Southern and Eastern Southeastern Entire state Northern Southern Southern Southeastern Southern Southern Entire state Entire state Southern Entire state Southern Northern Entire state Entire state Northwestern & Southeastern Southeastern Southern Northern Southern and Eastern Entire state Sections of Vermont
to Search
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Rivers, streams, open ponds and lakes Marshy ponds, vernal pools, slow streams, seeps Sandy ponds, ponds with emergent vegetation Slow streams, marshy ponds Slow Ponds, marshes Bogs, lakes with floating moss Temporary pools and lowland ponds Ponds, lakes, reservoirs Lowland ponds Swampy pools and streams Soupy, sphagnum bogs Sphagnum bogs Fast, rocky streams with boulder shorelines Rivers, lakes, reservoirs Spring Connecticut River Rivers Rivers Lowland sandy Missisquoi region & Connecticut River Connecticut River Ponds and marshes, esp. with yellow water lily Waters with emergent vegetation, esp. sedges Ponds, slow streams, lake coves Swamps, shady ponds or slow streams - flowing streams, emergent vegetation - - - fed, small, mucky forest streams clear, rapid, gravel bottom clear, rapid, medium - Where To Look edged streams, lakes
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- large
Volume 3 • Number 2 THE BOGHAUNTER Page 3 The Insect Calendar:
VERMONT
Seeing that Vermont remains in teneral stages in Odonata discovery, we’ve included some of the “lesser orders” among these events, as well as a list of outings from Massachusetts. Vermont Butterfly Survey Outings June 5 / Brattleboro / 10 am – 2 pm June 6 / South Burlington / 10 am – 2 pm VBS staff member Bryan Pfeiffer will guide a butterfly walk and training session for VBS volunteers and others. Contact Bryan ([email protected]) for details. Vermont Entomological Society Annual Picnic June 12 / Grand Isle / 10 am Members of the Vermont Entomological Society will gather for a pot-luck picnic and insect outing at Grand Isle State Park. Meet at the park. Bring a dish (and your net). Skippers and Skimmers June 19 / Groton State Forest / 10 am – 3 pm Bryan Pfeiffer of Vermont Bird Tours will guide an outing to discover butterflies and dragonflies in varied habitats and learn a bit about their biology and ecology. Fee: $25. Register at
Join odonatologists from across the Northeast for this regional gathering, which coincides with the Vermont BioBlitz. For information visit
Page 4 THE BOGHAUNTER Volume 3 • Number 2 Outings, Lectures, Events
MASSACHUSETTS
Quabbin Reservoir Trip Arcadia Sanctuary Talk and Walk June 6 / Athol, MA / 8 am - 3 pm June 9-10 / Easthampton, MA Join Dave Small on this annual trip into Quabbin Reservation. A Friday-evening slide program followed by a Saturday walk at This all-day event inside the reservation will feature birds, MassAudubon’s Arcadia Sanctuary in Easthampton. Fee & Pre- registration required: $20/members; $25/non-members. To butterflies, dragonflies and whatever nature has to offer. Bring lunch, snacks, water, field guides, dragonfly net and binoculars. register call: 413-584-3009. Leader: Michael Veit. Pre-registration required. Call the Millers River Environmental Newburyport Talk and Walk Center (978-248-9491) or e-mail [email protected]. July 17 / 10:30 am – 2:30 pm / Newburyport, MA Ode Institute – Athol Bird and Nature Club An introductory slide talk at the MassAudubon’s Joppa Flats June 16-July 21 / Athol, MA Sanctuary followed by a walk. Pre-registration required & fee. Contact the sanctuary (978-462-9998) for details and to register. Dave Small, club president, will run this series of classes and field trips to discover the diversity of dragonflies and Leader: Blair Nikula. damselflies found in Massachusetts. Field trips will be on the Coastal Plain Odonates Saturdays following each Wednesday evening class. Fee: $40 August 1 / 9 am / Plymouth, MA for members of ABNC and $50 for non-members. For info or to A trip sponsored by The Nature Conservancy to search for register call 978-248-9491 or visit the club’s web site at coastal plain pond dragonflies. Pre-registration required.
Volume 3 • Number 2 THE BOGHAUNTER Page 5 BOOK REVIEW Damselflies Revealed
Damselflies of the Northeast By Ed Lamm Biodiversity Books / $20 5.5 x 8.5 inches / 96 pages / ISBN 0-9754015-0-5 http://homepage.mac.com/edlam/book.html
By Bryan Pfeiffer o longer is there an excuse to leave a Vermont damselfly N unidentified. The surge of fine odonate field guides continues with Ed Lam’s Damselflies of the Northeast. No Vermont odonatist will want to leave home during the field season without this book. We are indeed fortunate that the Northeast is an epicenter of odonate discovery and study. The crowd of 120 or so people in Massachusetts for the New England Odonate Conference this past April was perhaps the greatest gathering of odonatologists and other interested folks ever assembled in North America. Many left the meeting clutching their copy of Lam’s book. With good reason. With life -like drawings, range maps and concise text, Lam has crafted a masterpiece — arguably the greatest breakthrough in Zygoptera since Ginger Carpenter’s seminal work, The Dragonflies and Damselflies of Cape Cod. If Ginger was our Roger Tory Peterson of Odonata, then Lam has become the David Sibley of damselflies. Damselflies of the Northeast begins appropriately with a crisp, basic introduction to damselflies: their life cycle and anatomy, as well as just enough advice for novices who may be hesitant to pursue these spectacular but at times confusing insects. Lam points out that many of our region’s damsels can indeed be identified in the field as free-flying gems (owning in large part to this book) with close-focusing binoculars or the naked eye. But Lam also recognizes that capture and closer examination (with a hand lens) of terminal appendages and other features is critical to the precise study of damselflies. The guide excels in this regard (but more on that later).
Each Zygoptera family (and certain genera) get their own one- necessary for identification. For each species, its habits and or two-page introductions. What makes an Argia (Dancer) habitats are explained in an introductory paragraph. And for species distinct? And why aren’t they Enallagma (American each, Lam includes a section on “Similar Species.” (My minor Bluets)? Lam’s no-frills explanation of the harmony of traits gripe here is that only common names of similar species are shared among members of a given family or genus offers a solid used in these sections.) foundation for learning these insects. Finally, and importantly, we get close-up, schematic illustrations Lam’s treatment of each species is complete. Images of males of male and female terminal appendages. These are simple gray and females fly off the pages. We get dorsal and lateral views. and white drawing. It might have been nice to see Lam’s talents And like Peterson and Sibley, Lam adds text and arrows as an observer and an artist extended – in color and with more pointing out diagnostic field marks. We quickly learn to notice dimension – to these illustrations as well. When necessary, Lam not only the thorax patterns on Ischnura species (Forktails), for shows close-ups of certain critical – and diagnostic – abdominal example, but also the extent of blue coloring on the last segments. And, for the truly dedicated, the book concludes with abdominal segments. This is basic stuff; birdwatchers have been amazing illustrations of mesostigmal plates on female looking at this level of detail for decades. But in no other Enallagma species. odonate field guide is it so clearly presented. So, in conclusion: quit your job, sell your house, become an Each species gets its own page. And graphic icons – binoculars, odonatologist, and spend many days with this guide in the good hand lens, and microscope – indicate the level of scrutiny company of damselflies.
Page 6 THE BOGHAUNTER Volume 3 • Number 2 The Almost-Official Vermont Checklist he evolution of the Vermont Odonata checklist continues. Notable changes include: listing Enallagma vernale as a distinct T Beyond his fine work in the field, Mike Blust has spent some species; the addition of Aeshna subarctica (Subarctic Daner) quality time in the archives. Mike has ventured as far as Florida in (accidentally left off the earlier list) and Gomphus vastus (Cobra his continuing efforts to refine our knowledge of the odonate Clubtail); and removing Sympetrum janeae (Jane’s Meadowhawk) species that inhabit this state. as a distinct species (subject to further debate). This brings the Vermont total to 40 Zygoptera species and 93 Anisoptera species. We’re getting close to a final list. Drawing on the work of Nick Donnelly, Paul- Michael Brunelle, as well as the small - but- Of course, this list is by no means the final word. Debate will growing legion of Vermont odonatologists, Mike has tinkered a ensue. The list will continue in its evolution. And it will certainly bit with the state checklist reported in the previous issue of The grow as more of us discover the odonate diversity of this state. Boghaunter (Volume 3, Number 1). Bryan Pfeiffer ZYGOPTERA (DAMSELFLIES) ANISOPTERA (DRAGONFLIES) Cordulidae (Emeralds) Cordulia shurtleffii American Emerald Calopterigidae (Jewelwings) Petaluridae (Petaltails) Dorocordulia lepida Petite Emerald Calopteryx aequabilis River Jewelwing Tachopteryx thoreyi Gray Petaltail Dorocordulia libera Racket-tailed Emerald Calopteryx amata Superb Jewelwing Epitheca canis Beaverpond Baskettail Calopteryx maculata Ebony Jewelwing Aeshnidae (Darners) Epitheca cynosura Common Baskettail Hetaerina americana American Rubyspot Aeshna canadensis Canada Darner Epitheca princeps Prince Baskettail Archilestes grandis Great Spreadwing Aeshna clepsydra Mottled Darner Epitheca spinigera Spiny Baskettail Aeshna constricta Lance-tipped Darner Helocordulia uhleri Uhler's Sundragon Neurocordulia yamaskanensis Stygian Shadowdragon Lestidae (Spread-winged Damselflies) Aeshna eremita Lake Darner Somatochlora albicincta Ringed Emerald Lestes congener Spotted Spreadwing Aeshna interrupta Variable Darner Somatochlora cingulata Lake Emerald Lestes disjunctus Common Spreadwing Aeshna sitchensis Zigzag Darner Somatochlora elongata Ski-tailed Emerald Lestes dryas Emerald Spreadwing Aeshna subarctica Subarctic Darner Somatochlora forcipata Forcipate Emerald Lestes eurinus Amber-winged Spreadwing Aeshna tuberculifera Black-tipped Darner Somatochlora franklini Delicate Emerald Lestes forcipatus Sweetflag Spreadwing Aeshna umbrosa Shadow Darner Somatochlora kennedyi Kennedy's Emerald Lestes inaequalis Elegant Spreadwing Aeshna verticalis Green-striped Darner Somatochlora minor Ocellated Emerald Lestes rectangularis Slender Spreadwing Anax junius Common Green Darner Somatochlora tenebrosa Clamp-tipped Emerald Lestes unguiculatus Lyre-tipped Spreadwing Basiaeschna janata Springtime Darner Somatochlora walshii Brush-tipped Emerald Lestes vigilax Swamp Spreadwing Boyeria grafiana Ocellated Darner Somatochlora williamsoni Williamson's Emerald Boyeria vinosa Fawn Darner Gomphaeschna furcillata Harlequin Darner Williamsonia fletcheri Ebony Boghaunter Coenagrionidaie (Pond Damsels) Amphiagrion saucium Eastern Red Damsel Libellulidae (Skimmers) Argia apicalis Blue-fronted Dancer Gomphidae (Clubtails) Celithemis elisa Calico Pennant Argia fumipennis Variable Dancer Arigomphus furcifer Lilypad Clubtail Celithemis eponina Halloween Pennant Argia moesta Powdered Dancer Arigomphus villosipes Unicorn Clubtail Erythemis simplicicollis Eastern Pondhawk Chromagrion conditum Aurora Damsel Dromogomphus spinosus Black-shouldered Spinyleg Leucorrhinia frigida Frosted Whiteface Coenagrion interrogatum Subarctic Bluet Gomphus adelphus Moustached Clubtail Leucorrhinia glacialis Crimson-ringed Whiteface Coenagrion resolutum Taiga Bluet Gomphus borealis Beaverpond Clubtail Leucorrhinia hudsonica Hudsonian Whiteface Enallagma antennatum Rainbow Bluet Gomphus descriptus Harpoon Clubtail Leucorrhinia intacta Dot-tailed Whiteface Enallagma aspersum Azure Bluet Gomphus exilis Lancet Clubtail Leucorrhinia proxima Red-waisted Whiteface Enallagma boreale Boreal Bluet Gomphus lividus Ashy Clubtail Libellula cyanea Spangled Skimmer Enallagma carunculatum Tule Bluet Gomphus quadricolor Rapids Clubtail Libellula (Ladona) exusta White Corporal Enallagma civile Familiar Bluet Gomphus spicatus Dusky Clubtail Libellula incesta Slaty Skimmer Enallagma cyathigerum Northern Bluet Gomphus vastus Cobra Clubtail Libellula (Ladona) julia Chalk-fronted Corporal Enallagma ebrium Marsh Bluet Gomphus ventricosus Skillet Clubtail Libellula luctuosa Widow Skimmer Enallagma exsulans Stream Bluet Hagenius brevistylus Dragonhunter Libellula (Plathemis) lydia Common Whitetail Enallagma geminatum Skimming Bluet Lanthus parvulus Northern Pygmy Clubtail Libellula pulchella Twelve-spotted Skimmer Enallagma hageni Hagen's Bluet Lanthus vernalis Southern Pygmy Clubtail Libellula quadrimaculata Four-spotted Skimmer Enallagma signatum Orange Bluet Ophiogomphus aspersus Brook Snaketail Libellula semifasciata Painted Skimmer Enallagma traviatum Slender Bluet Ophiogomphus carolus Riffle Snaketail Nannothemis bella Elfin Skimmer Enallagma vesperum Vesper Bluet Ophiogomphus mainensis Maine Snaketail Pachydiplax longipennis Blue Dasher Enallagma vernale Vernal Bluet Ophiogomphus rupinsulensis Rusty Snaketail Pantala flavescens Wandering Glider Ischnura hastata Citrine Forktail Stylogomphus albistylus Least Clubtail Pantala hymenaea Spot-winged Glider Ischnura kellicotti Lilypad Forktail Stylurus scudderi Zebra Clubtail Perithemis tenera Eastern Amberwing Ischnura posita Fragile Forktail Stylurus spiniceps Arrow Clubtail Sympetrum costiferum Saffron-winged Meadowhaw k Ischnura verticalis Eastern Forktail Sympetrum danae Black Meadowhawk Nehalennia gracilis Sphagnum Sprite Cordulegastridae (Spiketails) Sympetrum internum/janeae Cherry-faced Meadowhawk Nehalennia irene Sedge Sprite Cordulegaster diastatops Delta-spotted Spiketail Sympetrum obtrusum White-faced Meadowhawk Cordulegaster maculata Twin-spotted Spiketail Sympetrum rubicundulum Ruby Meadowhawk
Sympetrum semicinctum Band-winged Meadowhawk
Macromiidae (Cruisers) Sympetrum vicinum Yellow-legged Meadowhawk
Didymops transversa Stream Cruiser Tramea lacerata Black Saddlebags Macromia illinoiensis Illinois River Cruiser
Volume 3 • Number 1 THE BOGHAUNTER Page 7 THE BOGHAUNTER 113 Bartlett Road
Plainfield, VT 05667
2004. 17, May on County Washington in fletcheri Williamsonia
more making busy were Boghaunters) (Ebony fletcheri Williamsonia Bryan Pfeiffer Checklist Update ...... New Damselfly Guide ...... Calendar of Events ...... DSA Meeting Update ...... Vermont’s Next Odonates ......
In This Issue:
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