Williamsonia
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Issue #1, No.Williamsonia 1 Published by the Michigan Odonata Survey Winter, 1997 Welcome to the MOS! Michigan Odonata Survey - by Mark O’Brien This newsletter marks the beginning of 1997, and 1st Meeting Highlights the second six months of the Michigan Odonata Survey. I decided to name the newsletter Williamsonia due to the fact that E.B. Williamson’s collection is the nucleus of On Sept. 28, the MOS held its first meeting, and 14 our Odonata collection at the UMMZ, and also because Odonata enthusaists attended. Tim Vogt gets the the genus bearing his name is a most desirable one, award for "farthest travelled" as he drove from especially in Michigan. The Michigan Odonata Survey is Springfield IL. His knowledge and enthusaism were barely six months old as I write this, and I feel that we greatly appreciated by all of us. With the exception of have accomplished some goals in a short time. Tim Vogt and Bob Glotzhober, the attendees were from The past summer was an exciting one for me, SE lower Michigan. really getting my feet wet (and other body parts) with Bob Glotzhober of the Ohio Dragonfly Survey Odonata in the field. Mike Kielb and I and shared some shared some of his experience from the ODS's real good collecting days. We were lucky this past activities. He made some very pertinent suggestions summer to have found some significant records, and the and observations that we'll try to follow. He also number of new county and state records will likely brought along some copies to sell of the very beautiful increase next season. We have been busy identifying our Ohio Dragonflies poster. I know that was appreciated catches from the summer, and here is a quick list of the by several of us. other projects we have going on: By far, the best aspect of the meeting was the sharing of ideas and experiences that we have had. I 1. Sorting, identification and cataloging of the larval think everyone took something useful away with them odonate collections by Ethan Bright. (More about this from the meeting. There were all levels of experience later in this issue). present, from beginners to established experts. 2. Cataloging the Michigan adults in the UMMZ Everyone was able to contribute to the meeting, which Collection. Mike Kielb and I have been entering the bodes well for the survey. Several items stand out and data from the summer 1996 specimens, and we have some of them have already been acted upon: only just begun to enter the UMMZspecimens into the Specify targeted species, areas and habitats for future database. As of the end of December, there are about collecting efforts Use exuviae surveys in places like the MetroParks to 1700 specimens catalogued. Of course, we are always acquaint visitors with Odonata and to survey without looking for volunteers for this monumental task. worrying about collecting living insects. 3. Cataloging the UMMZ exuviae collection - a project Make changes to the database to accomodate UTM undertaken by Alexis Kielb, a student at Ann Arbor coordinates, as well as numbering each specimen. Community High SChool. We inherited the Kennedy Finish an updated distribution map for each species to be and Williamson collections, but the exuviae were used by MOS members definitely not well-curated. Most have been locked away Find volunteers to help catalogue specimens in the database in storage for many years, and as a result the data Prepare an MOS member packet to provide as much (much of it valuable) has been unavailable until now. information for the participants as possible Alexis is doing a great job getting the collection into a Provide an MOS "ID Card" and MOS fact sheet for field useful state. About half of the exuviae collection is now workers Provide "target species" fact sheets to participants catalogued and curated. We all agreed that a late winter-early spring workshop in 1997 would be a good idea, and we are making plans We have plans for a spring MOS meeting/workshop, to do so. Such a workshop would likely be held in Ann Arbor, and might include: •Identification of adults using keys •Larval morphology and keys to identification •Specimen preparation techniques continued on page 3 2 Williamsonia, Vol. 1, No. 1 Surveying for Odonata in the Stylogomphus albistylus, Boyeria vinosa, Cordulegaster maculata, Ophiogomphus colubrinus, and Hagenius Huron Mountains in 1996 brevistylus. by Mark O'Brien At Ives Lake, we were sucessful at catching many Didymops transversa and Macromia illinoiensis, both county The Huron Mountains region in Marquette County, MI records for Marquette. Basiaeschna janata was the most (about an hour northwest of Marquette) is an interesting area common aeshnid in late June and early July. Epitheca canis, for dragonflies, due to the variety of undisturbed stream spinigera and cynosura were all present in the Huron systems, lakes, beaver ponds and other wetland areas. I had Mountains. Dorocordulia libera and Cordulia shurtleffi were made five previous trips to the Huron Mountains from 1984- abundant in many locations. Four species of Somatochlora 94 to work on solitary and social wasps, and had made were taken, and hopefully, we’ll catch a few more. A small incidental collections of some odonates. However, in the past open area surrounded by trees at Conway Bay was a “sink” for year I began to transform myself into an odonatologist, and I dragonflies. Catching Somatochloras that had dropped into knew that the Huron Mountain region would be a great place the clearing was way too easy, but I’m not complaining! Mike for a survey. In late June, Mike and Susan Kielb, Ethan and I had a wonderful time on the two occasions we collected Bright, and I arrived at the Huron Mountain Club to begin an there. Odonata survey. Our research was funded by the Huron Ethan Bright collected aquatic samples from Ives Lake, Mountain Wildlife Foundation. Canyon Lake, Mountain Stream, Salmon-Trout River, Elm We were pleased with the diversity of Odonata in the Creek, and many smaller ponds and the shore of Lake areas we studied in late June early July and again in mid- Superior. He will likely have some new records of other August, and hope to finish up our survey in another season or aquatic insects for his effort. two. Based upon our estimates, there should be about 100 We have not even started to sort and identify the species of Odonata in the Huron Mountains region, and we damselflies from our trips, but I am sure we found something found approximately half of them on our first trip. During interesting among those, too. Luckily, we now have the early summer, Libellula julia (Uhler) was the the most monumental publication by Westfall and May to work with. common species of Anisoptera. At Lily Pond, Mike and Susan The end result our Huron Mountains work will be a Keilb saw thousands on a single day. We probably witnessed publication devoted to the dragonflies and damselflies of the a big emergence, so it would be interesting to see what the Huron Mountains region, probably published in the Great numbers are in a subsequent year. Lakes Entomologist. We welcome any other collection data From the 25 June to 3 July 1996, we collected a total of from Marquette County to add to our database. D 391 adult specimens of Odonata, representing 40 species. In addition, 15 sites were sampled for aquatic stages (larvae), with a total of 20 species found as larvae. Two exciting finds Seney National Wildlife Refuge - for the trip (aside from claiming numerous new county A Target Area records) was the discovery of Stylogomphus albistylus, a small stream-dwelling gomphid dragonfly that was previously unreported from the UP. That find is published in the by Mark O’Brien summer, 1996 issue of the Great Lakes Entomologist (Kielb, Bright, & O’Brien 1996. Great Lakes Entomol. On my way to the Huron Mts. in late June 1996, I stopped 29[2]:87-88). The second major discovery wasn’t realized for a break at Seney National Wildlife Refuge, and was quite until we were sorting specimens in the fall back at the amazed at the number of dragonflies that were in the air. Museum. I was sorting out the aeshnids, and found that we There were hundreds hawking around the parking lots, and had collected four Gomphaeschna furcillata from three all along the side of the road. Since I did not have a permit, I sites in the Huron Mountains. This species has not been didn’t collect any that day . However, I made a mental note to recorded from Michigan since the late 1800’s by Hagen. try and get a permit for another trip. Mike Tansey, the Gomphaeschna furcillata is a resident of alder swamps and Refuge Manager, provided me with a permit for my visit on similar habitats. There is no lack of those types of habitats in August 13. Adrienne, Marjorie and I made a one-day survey the UP, so there ought to be more records (See Tennessen’s along the major loop road, and although not a comprehensive note!). The funny thing about those specimens is that I recall effort, we did pretty well. It is obvious to me that early making some comment about collecting an aeshnid that summer is really the time to be there, and perhaps even looked like a gomphid, not knowing what Gomphaeschna was Williamsonia might be found off in the big bogs that are at the time... there. Mountain Stream is an interesting place to collect, due to I missed the refuge’s biologist that day, but on the the diversity of stream micro-habitats and substrates.