Dragons and Damsels Along the American River by Tim Manolis Everyone Knows What a Dragonfly Is
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The American River The Natural History Association ACORN Number 128 www.arnha.org Summer 2004 Dragons and Damsels Along the American River By Tim Manolis Everyone knows what a dragonfly is. armed with projecting hooks, teeth and years for larger species that grow slowly A stick figure of one drawn in the dirt spines at its tip, that can be projected in high mountain lakes. The final lar- — long, straight line for the body, two outward with blinding speed to capture val stage climbs up out of the water onto big circles for eyes, and four long wings prey. Larvae of “true” dragonflies have shore or vegetation nearby, its skin splits — will almost certainly be recognized by rectal gills and the ability to “jet” along along the top, and the fragile new adult, folks anywhere in the world. by propelling water out their tail ends. called a teneral, emerges. This is a vul- Not only are dragonflies distinctive Damselfly larvae have three external, fin- nerable time in a dragonfly’s life, because and unique, they are large, colorful, ac- like gills that they can use to “fish tail” the soft teneral is easy pickings for birds tive, and totally harmless — at least to their way through water. Larval life and other predators until it is able to humans. Both the aquatic larvae, also spans vary from a few weeks in those harden-up and fly. called nymphs or naiads, and the flying species that live in vernal pools to a few see Dragonflies, page 3 adults are voracious predators of insects and other small organisms (large larvae will even eat small fish and tadpoles). American River Parkway Funding These striking creatures are eminently watchable creatures, but be careful — By Peter J. Hayes watching dragonflies can become addic- tive! There’s a new kid on the block in the campaign to safeguard the integrity The insect order Odonata includes of the American River Parkway. what we in North American call the drag- The American River Parkway Coalition, made up of representatives of onflies (suborder Anisoptera) and dam- ARNHA, the Save the American River Association (SARA) and the American selflies (suborder Zygoptera). Damselfly River Parkway Foundation (ARPF), has set its sights on achieving stable, long- species in general (but not always) are term funding that would end repeated perils-of-pauline budget crises that smaller and more slender and delicate beset the priceless resource. than most “true” dragonfly species, and The coalition was formed last spring to rally opposition to plans for 20 they typically (but again, not always) rest percent revenue cuts in the County Parks Department budget that threatened with the wings pressed together over the to slash Effie Yeaw Nature Center open hours, parkway maintenance, and abdomen, rather than spread out to the ranger patrols. The threat largely eased — temporarily — last May when county sides as in the “true” dragonflies. But the officials came up with one-time funding from the sale of land and other sources structural similarities of the two groups that reduced the anticipated 2004-05 parkway shortfall from $4.2 million to outnumber their differences and in many $665,000. parts of the world they are all simply County Parks Director Ron Suter heaped praise on the big turnout of park- called dragonflies. way supporters — alerted by coalition e-mails and phone calls — at the crucial Dragonfly larvae have a unique feed- May 13 Board meeting at which supervisors left the new parks budget intact. ing structure — a hinged lower jaw see Coalition, page 2 ARNHA Board of Directors “Coalition” from page one But parkway supporters weren’t cheering yet because Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s revised 2004-05 state budget included major cuts to counties, Noah Baygell President among others. If those cuts remained in the final version of the spending plan Lee Wilner when adopted this summer, they could impose renewed pain for the budget of Vice President, Membership Sacramento County, including the parks department. Peggy Kennedy Meanwhile, the new parkway steering committee was staying in business, Vice President, Newsletter seeking to enlist support from affinity organizations such as cycling and nature Pete Hayes groups in efforts to expand its clout with the county Board of Supervisors. ARNHA Vice President,Publications Board member Pam Maybury, a member of the coalition, estimated that such Claudia Hulbe groups represent 20,000 to 30,000 local residents. Recording Secretary “Our three organizations have a distinct user overview and fiscally responsible Paula Baldi history of advocating for the parkway,” Pam said. “We want to end up with a Corresponding Secretary large enough voter base to be able to tell the supervisors, ‘don’t put us at the bot- Roberta Wilner Treasurer tom of the food chain.’ We want them to know we are a powerful organization of people who love the parkway and want to fight for it.” Members at Large While focusing on the need for assured, long-term funding of the parkway, Bill Davis the coalition was closely studying a suggested Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber Lou Heinrich of Commerce proposal to create a separate parks authority that would fund parks Molly Keller in Sacramento, Yolo, El Dorado and Placer counties. Funding would come from Shirley Merrick Greg Voelm benefit assessments on property owners if they approved a proposed district on a Larry Washington simple majority vote. Other coalition members are ARNHA’s immediate past president, Lou Associate Members Heinrich; President Alan Wade and Betsy Weiland of SARA, and President Lisa Agoitia Katie Baygell Bjorn Gregersen, Warren Truitt and Executive Director Anne Marie Vincent of Carol Doersch ARPF. – Peter J. Hayes is ARNHA Vice President – Publications Bud Getty Ed Littrell Pamela Maybury Diana Parker Kip Skidmore Jo Smith Lynn White BIRD Representatives to other groups Commission on History and Science &Breakfast Greg Voelm Parkway Advisory Committee The annual ARNHA Bird & Breakfast fundraiser at the Effie Yeaw Nature Noah Baygell Center March 13 raised $2,105 from the 77 participants. Jack Hiehle, who has Parkway Master Plan Revision Committee coordinated the event for 11 years, said 58 bird species were recorded as volunteer Lou Heinrich Sacramento Audubon Society trip leaders escorted participants American River Parkway Coalition through the nature area in Ancil Hoffman County Park. Lou Heinrich & Pam Maybury Numerous Anna’s Hummingbird, Bushtit and Oak Parkway Funding Group Titmouse nests were observed, along with mating Wild Dodie Backus Turkeys and White-tailed Kites. Other bird Save the American River Ass’n. highlights: Marsh Wren, Savannah Sparrow, Bud Getty & Pam Maybury Black-throated Gray Warbler, Hutton’s Vireo, ARNHA Red-breasted Sapsucker, and White-throated Spar- P.O. Box 241 row. Also seen were several Western Pond Turtles and Carmichael, CA 95609 a beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly emerging (916) 489-4918 • www.arnha.org from its chrysalis. The ACORN is published quarterly by ARNHA, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization 2 The ACORN Summer 2004 “Dragonflies,” from page one Adults live relatively short lives, from Dragonflies Public Forum on July 27 a few weeks to a few months. They Tim Manolis, author and illustrator of the article on dragonflies in this issue of the spend the first few days or weeks feed- ACORN will give a video presentation at an ARNHA public forum at 7 p.m. Tuesday, ing, often far from water, and maturing. July 27 in the Effie Yeaw Nature Center Assembly building. Some dragonflies “hawk” for flying in- sects in the manner of swifts or swallows. Tim, who has been a longtime member of ARNHA and the Sacramento Audubon So- Other sally out after prey from a perch, ciety, is the author and illustrator of the newly-published “Dragonflies and Damselflies like flycatchers do. Many damselflies of California” in the Natural History Guides Series of the University of California Press. feed like hummingbirds and kinglets by The nature center gift shop will make the book available at the meeting for purchase hovering and gleaning insects from veg- and signing by the author. etation. Tim is a free lance author, artist and biological consultant, and has a Ph.D. in Biology When fully mature, males go to from the University of Colorado. He is currently working on the illustrations for an- breeding sites to wait and watch for fe- other book in the same UC Press series, “Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay Region males, which they aggressively pursue and the Sacramento Valley, to be authored by Arthur Shapiro of UC Davis. with almost comical intensity. Mature males are often strikingly patterned in or guarded by the male. In some spe- I am happy to report that all still occur black and white, or brightly colored in cies males guard laying females by re- along the Parkway today. In addition, blue or red, an indication to females and maining attached to them, while in oth- there are a number of species which other males of their breeding status. ers they may hover nearby to chase off Kennedy failed to find along the river Mature females are often duller and other males. or any of the other sites he surveyed in cryptically patterned. The American River Parkway is an the Sacramento Valley, but which today The mating behavior and structures excellent place to watch dragonflies. are among the most common summer- of dragonflies are unique among insects. Dragonfly nymphs of different species time species in the region. It seems un- Males have claspers at the tips of their often live in different habitats including likely that he would have missed them, abdomens with which they grasp females small temporary pools, deep ponds, and indeed the historical evidence sug- (behind the head in “true” dragonflies backwater lagoons, small creeks, and the gests that the ranges of these species have and on the foreparts of the thorax in swift, rocky rapids and quiet, muddy or expanded northward in the Pacific States damselflies).