New discoveries in 2017 (odonates)

There’s always more to discover/learn! My odonate-related new discoveries in 2017 are presented in reverse-chronological order.

Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly

10 SEP 2017 | PNC. Wm. County | Fine-lined Emerald (male)

A Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora filosa) was spotted at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA. This individual is one of several males spotted during a period of a week-or-so in mid-September 2017.

Immature male Calico Pennant

20 JUN 2017 | OBNWR | Calico Pennant (immature male)

A Calico Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis elisa) was spotted at Painted Turtle Pond, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA. This individual is an immature male. Notice its coloration is similar to female Calico Pennants.

Allegheny River Cruiser dragonfly

11 JUN 2017 | Fluvanna County, VA | Allegheny River Cruiser (male)

An Allegheny River Cruiser (Macromia alleghaniensis) was netted by Mike Blust at Hardware River Wildlife Management Area, Fluvanna County, Virginia USA. This individual is a male.

Harpoon Clubtail dragonfly

09 JUN 2017 | Highland County, VA | Harpoon Clubtail (male)

A Harpoon Clubtail dragonfly (Phanogomphus descriptus) was spotted at “Straight Fork,” Highland County, Virginia USA. This individual is a male. Sincere thanks to fellow Virginians Karen Kearney and Mike Boatwright for guiding me to this unique high-elevation habitat.

It’s worth noting that I saw two more new species during the same trip: Riffle Snaketail (Ophiogomphus carolus); and Dot-tailed Whiteface (Leucorrhinia intacta).

Those who know me well are familiar with one of many “Walterisms”: “I haven’t ‘seen’ something until I have photographed it.” My rationale is two-fold: 1) A photograph verifies a sighting. 2) The detail visible in a good photograph exceeds the acuity of the human eye. Suffice it to say I saw two other species but haven’t seen them. Makes sense to me!

Swift River Cruiser dragonfly

27 MAY 2017 | Riverbend Park | Swift River Cruiser (emergent) female

A Swift River Cruiser dragonfly (Macromia illinoiensis) was spotted at Riverbend Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is an emergent/teneral female.

Spine-crowned Clubtail dragonfly

03 MAY 2017 | HORP | Spine-crowned Clubtail (male)

A Spine-crowned Clubtail dragonfly (Hylogomphus abbreviatus) spotted along Bull Run at Hemlock Overlook Regional Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is a male. A female was spotted on the same day at a nearby location.

Epitheca cynosura exuvia

13 APR 2017 | Common Baskettail (Epitheca cynosura) | exuvia (lateral)

A Common Baskettail dragonfly (Epitheca cynosura) exuvia was collected at Painted Turtle Pond, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.

Epitheca princeps exuvia

05 MAR 2017 | Prince Baskettail (Epitheca princeps) | exuvia (face-head)

A Prince Baskettail dragonfly (Epitheca princeps) exuvia was collected from an unknown location. This specimen was on temporary loan from Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Harpoon Clubtail dragonfly (male)

A Harpoon Clubtail dragonfly (Phanogomphus descriptus) was spotted during a photowalk at “Straight Fork Beaver Ponds,” Highland County, Virginia USA.

09 JUN 2017 | Highland County, VA | Harpoon Clubtail (male)

This individual is a male, as indicated by his terminal appendages and “indented” hind wings.

09 JUN 2017 | Highland County, VA | Harpoon Clubtail (male)

The following photograph was shot at f/11, since more depth of field was required to show the dragonfly in focus from head-to-tail. The other photos were shot at either f/7.1 or f/8.

09 JUN 2017 | Highland County, VA | Harpoon Clubtail (male)

Harpoon Clubtail is a new species of dragonfly for my life list.

09 JUN 2017 | Highland County, VA | Harpoon Clubtail (male)

Bonus Bugs

Look closely at all of the preceding photos. Did you notice the exuviae from another type of aquatic insect, possibly either mayfly or stonefly? I didn’t see the exuviae when I shot the photos, and missed them again when I post-processed the images. Sometimes I get so focused on the subject that I don’t see the bigger picture.

Tech Tips

The photos were taken using a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera, Fujinon 55-200mm zoom lens, and Fujifilm EF-X500 shoe mount flash.

The Backstory

I attended the 2017 Dragonfly Society of the Americas Annual Meeting in Staunton, Virginia, 09-11 June 2017. Yes Virginia, there is an organization called the Dragonfly Society of the Americas (DSA). Although I’ve been a member of DSA since August 2011, the 2017 annual meeting is the first one that I’ve attended.

2017 DSA Annual Meeting | Staunton, VA (see red circle)

Source Credit: 2017 Dragonfly Society of the Americas Annual Meeting.

Staunton, Virginia is the county seat of Augusta County. Highland County is located between the western boundary of Augusta County and the border between Virginia and West Virginia. Highland County is the only place in Virginia where there are official records for Harpoon Clubtail.

DSA Distribution Viewer | Harpoon Clubtail (Phanogomphus descriptus)

Source Credit: Abbott, J.C. 2006-2017. OdonataCentral: An online resource for the distribution and identification of Odonata. Available at http://www.odonatacentral.org. (Accessed: June 13, 2017).

Key: blue dots = Dot Map Project; green dots = Accepted records; yellow dots = Pending records.

In the world of odonates, there are habitat generalists and habitat specialists. Harpoon Clubtail is a habitat specialist, as shown clearly by the preceding distribution map of official records.

I was fortunate to be able to ride along with fellow Virginians Karen Kearney and Mike Boatwright for a road trip to Highland County. Straight Fork Beaver Ponds is a unique high-elevation habitat that is well known among expert birders and odonate hunters like Karen and Mike.

Mike scouted the location a week-or-so before the DSA meeting, so he had a good idea of the species of odonates we might see, including Harpoon Clubtail and Riffle Snaketail (Ophiogomphus carolus) dragonflies.

Sincere thanks to Karen and Mike for a fun, productive day hunting odonates with good friends!

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.