A publication of the M ichigan O donata Survey V olu me 9 Issu e 1 W i l l i a m s o n i a Winter 20 0 5 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 pa- trolling 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 speci- m 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 in- Top: The side of the thorax with the broken stripes. Bottom: The side deed canadensis in all other characters, except that one side of the thorax. 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 under- scores 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 per- sonal reference collection. INSIDE: 2004 dragonflying in M ecosta C o. Twin-spotted Spiketail: Stephen Ross sight record for W ayne Co. Rodney, M I seross@ tucker-usa.com ID of Epitheca costalis o say the least, dragonflying in M ecosta C ounty during 2004 T 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 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 ith- out 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. (Continued from page 1) finding sixteen species, w ith several being conspicuously lacking. W hile w e found m ost of the usual suspects, both of lecting the first adult C yrano D arner (N asiaeschna pentacantha) us rem arked on how few of each species w ere present. I also for the county. O ne had been photographed in June 1998 and canoed the sam e sections on July 23 w ith Pat C ady and found a larval record w as collected in 1999. the stream odonate fauna rem arkably lacking, finding only a few individuals of each of ten species. A trip dow n the M us- kegon from Paris to Big R apids on July 20 found only sm all I visited the tw o R inged Boghaunter (W illiam sonia lintneri) num bers of six species of dam sels. The only dragonfly w as sites four tim es in late April and early M ay on the few w arm one D ragonhunter (H agenius brevistylus). Several G om phids, days that occurred during that tim e. None w ere found, nor M acrom ia, and Stylurids should have been observed. 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 In the UP, I had som ew hat better luck, during m y third sur- lost their populations; perhaps they are just cyclical and can vey of the O ttaw a National Forest for the Forest Service. This arrest developm ent until conditions are right. year I w as w orking the Three C orners V egetative M anage- m ent Project w here O ntonagon, Iron, and G ogebic counties com e together. Through the haze of deerflies, m osquitoes, Though the lakes w ere periodically good, for the m ost part, and the ticks craw ling through m y clothes, I found tw o of the they seem ed lacking and the hatches later than expected. eight target species. O ne, the M idland C lubtail (G om phus frat- H anna Lake, w here I logged 26 species in about tw o hours in ernus), seem ed to be at peak of em ergence, w ith about 150 2003, w as quite disappointing this year on three visits, eleven observed in roadside and open ar- species being the highest num ber found. The one exception eas along the O ntonagon R iver. w as a July 21 visit to Tow nline Lake w here an em ergence of Five O cellated Em eralds Enallagm as w as going on. E. carunculatum , E traviatum , E. hageni, (Som atochlora m inor) w ere also and E. gem inatum w ere found good num bers. O therw ise, I found am ong the alders and sedge found lake and nearby open areas around the county to be m eadow s of M cG inty C reek. I also significantly dim inished from past visits. caught several Subarctic Bluets (Coenagrion interrogatum ) a county The stream s, such as the M uskegon and Little M uskegon record for Iron C ounty and one of R iver, and a m odest stream I visit in C olfax Tow nship, w ere the few tim es this species has been seem ingly devoid of odes this year. The county experienced captured in the UP. considerably m ore rain than usual this spring, and tem pera- In case you were wonder- ing, “Where in the heck is tures w ere cool, resulting in stream s over their banks w ell Though butterfly collecting during Mecosta Co.?” into June. I agree w ith M ark O ’Brien’s contention that m uch this year seem ed to be w orse than of the stream odonate fauna m ay have been w ashed dow n- dragonfly collecting, I located eight lep records for the UP stream , killed in the process or becam e food for fish. w hile doing m y odonate survey. These w ere C anada Sw al- low tail (Papilio Canadensis), Little W ood Satyr (M egisto cy- C arl Freem an and I canoed the Little M uskegon on June 18, m 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 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 con- spicuously 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.