Dragonfly Curriculum Guide Supplemental Videos

One of my photos is featured in a new video entitled Determining Dragonfly Sex: Dragonfly video 15, by Dr. Ami Thompson. See the inset photo in the following video screen capture.

Determining Dragonfly Sex: Dragonfly video 15, by Ami Thompson.

The video is one of 15 Dragonfly Curriculum Guide Supplemental Videos coproduced by Ami Thompson and Peter Xyooj. The Dragonfly Curriculum Guide (PDF) is available for free.

Notice my last name is misspelled in the credits at the end of the video: Stanford is an institution; I should be institutionalized. <Rim shot!> Oh well, at least my name is spelled correctly in the video screen capture shown above.

Determining Dragonfly Sex: Dragonfly video 15, by Ami Thompson.

The inset photo is from “Mocha Emerald dragonfly claspers,” a blog post that I published on 13 July 2017.

09 JUL 2017 | Huntley Meadows Park | Mocha Emerald (male)

Related Resources

• Dragonfly Curriculum Guide Supplemental Videos, coproduced by Ami Thompson and Peter Xyooj.
• Dragonfly Curriculum Guide (PDF), by Ami Thompson.
• Mocha Emerald dragonfly claspers, a blog post by Walter Sanford.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Reasoning for resident Roseate

Parts of my last blog post are like the title and abstract for a research paper.

At this point I think it’s reasonable to conclude I was right in 2015 — there is a small, resident, reproducing population of Roseate Skimmer at the park. Source Credit: Breaking news: More Roseate Skimmer spotted at Huntley Meadows Park, by Walter Sanford.

In this blog post, I will provide some of the reasoning that makes my conclusion reasonable.

Probability

First and foremost, ask yourself the obvious question: What are the odds Roseate Skimmer dragonfly (Orthemis ferruginea) migrated to the same park four times during the past eight years? Highly improbable, in my strong opinion.

Adult Flight Period

Long flight season but often most common in fall. Source Credit: Paulson, Dennis (2011-12-19). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East (Princeton Field Guides) (Kindle Location 9347). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.

Did you notice every sighting of Roseate Skimmer at Huntley Meadows Park, located in Fairfax County, Virginia USA, occurred during the month of September?

• 10 September 2014 – Walter Sanford (observed only)
• 23 September 2015 – Walter Sanford (photo)
• 29 September 2019 – Howard Wu (photo)
• 15 September 2022 – Lindsay Davis Loyd and Scot Magnotta (photo)

Mike Boatwright, my good friend and an odonate expert, searched the Dragonfly Society of the Americas Odonata Central records database and discovered a similar pattern.

• The earliest date in South Carolina is July 04 with most records in August to October.
• All North Carolina records are late August to September.
• Only two (2) Maryland records in July and August.

Lacking a larger database of sightings that can be used to determine the adult flight period for Roseate Skimmer at Huntley Meadows Park, it appears late-August to September is a good time to look for this rare species.

Why hasn’t the species been spotted more often at HMP?

That’s a good question, with several possible answers.

Roseate Skimmer is a “mudder,” meaning its preferred habitat seems to be ponds where there are mud flats.

Habitat: Very broad habitat tolerance, prefers mud bottoms for larval habitat. Source Credit: Paulson, Dennis (2011-12-19). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East (Princeton Field Guides) (Kindle Locations 9354-9355). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.

Now ask yourself another question: How many people visit Huntley Meadows Park and spend a lot of time looking carefully at mud flats? I think most people are drawn to the green spaces in the park.

But that’s just part of the problem. Huntley Meadows Park is huge (nearly 1,500 acres) and there are a lot of mud flats throughout the park, including many in places that are mostly inaccessible and/or off-limits to the public. This is especially true during late-summer and early-fall when the water level in the central wetland area tends to be lower than at other times of year.

And it’s almost certainly true that fewer odonate enthusiasts, including me, visit the park as often as they did before the park became overcrowded with photographers who block the boardwalk at prime locations where Roseate Skimmer might be spotted. Fewer odonate hunters searching for relatively few individual specimens at a time of year when there is a lot of suitable habitat is not a formula for success!

First confirmed sighting of a female Roseate Skimmer

The female and male Roseate Skimmer dragonflies that were spotted by Lindsay Davis Loyd and Scot Magnotta are a game-changer. The Roseates were observed perched relatively close to each other. If the pair hadn’t mated already then it’s likely they did — mating is the primary goal of adult odonates. So there are almost certainly Roseate Skimmer eggs in the water at Huntley Meadows Park. If the larvae (nymphs) overwinter successfully, then the beat goes on.

Opposing viewpoints

Equally reasonable opposing viewpoints are invited and welcome.

Until proven otherwise, I will continue to contend there is a resident population of Roseate Skimmer at Huntley Meadows Park.

There are many experienced odonate hunters who live in Northern Virginia. I think it would be great if we could mobilize a group to systematically search the park for Roseate Skimmer next year.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

 

Breaking news: More Roseate Skimmer spotted at Huntley Meadows Park

Post Update (as of 03 October 2022)

Lindsay Davis Loyd and Scot Magnotta spotted one adult male and one adult female Roseate Skimmer dragonfly (Orthemis ferruginea) on 15 September 2022 at Huntley Meadows Park. This is the first confirmed sighting of a female Roseate Skimmer at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

At this point I think it’s reasonable to conclude I was right in 2015 — there is a small, resident, reproducing population of Roseate Skimmer at the park.

Related Resources

• Reasoning for resident Roseate, a blog post by Walter Sanford, published on 07 October 2022.
• Roseate Skimmer dragonfly (male), a blog post by Walter Sanford, published on 26 September 2015.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Fishing spider?

14 OCT 2020 | Huntley Meadows Park | Wolf Spider (Tigrosa helluo)

A medium-size spider — possibly a species in the genus of Fishing Spiders — was observed along the railing of the boardwalk that goes through the central wetland area at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

The spider was very skittish. It would venture out from a crack between two pieces of boardwalk railing, only to scurry back to safety every time I tried to move closer for a tighter shot.

Post Update

Sincere thanks to Sarah Rose, Laura Lee Paxson, and Todd Traxler — members of the BugGuide Facebook group — for help in identifying this individual as a Wolf Spider (Tigrosa helluo).

Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

“It ain’t over till it’s over.”

“It ain’t over till it’s over” is a phrase commonly associated with baseball player/coach/manager Yogi Berra. In this case, “it” refers to odonate season and it’s not over in Northern Virginia till Autumn Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum vicinum) disappear. Clearly, it ain’t over although “the end is near.”

This individual is a female, as indicated by her red/tan coloration and terminal appendages.

14 OCT 2020 | Huntley Meadows Park | Autumn Meadowhawk (female)

“It ain’t over till the fat lady sings” is a similar saying that is often attributed to Yogi Berra mistakenly. “The fat lady” refers to the fact that many female dragonflies, such as Autumn Meadowhawk, have a wider body than males of the same species.

Look closely at the full-size version of the preceding photo. Notice what appears to be an egg mass located on the underside of her body, near the tip of the abdomen.

Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Autumn colors

An Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum vicinum) was perched near the boardwalk that goes through the central wetland area at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

14 OCT 2020 | Huntley Meadows Park | Autumn Meadowhawk (male)

This individual is a male, as indicated by his reddish coloration and terminal appendages.

14 OCT 2020 | Huntley Meadows Park | Autumn Meadowhawk (male)

Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Damselfly (species unknown)

A damselfly was spotted near a small pool of water in the forest at Huntley Meadows Park.

14 OCT 2020 | Huntley Meadows Park | damselfly (species unknown)

This individual is definitely a member of Family Coenagrionidae (Narrow-winged Damselflies), possibly a female Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile).

Sidebar: Scientific Classification of Damselflies

The following concise explanation of the scientific classification of damselflies is provided to help the reader understand where the genus Enallagma (American Bluets) fits into the bigger picture of the Order Odonata, Suborder Zygoptera (Damselflies).

There are four families of damselflies in the United States of America (USA), although only three families occur in the mid-Atlantic USA: Broad-winged damselflies; Narrow-winged damselflies (a.k.a., Pond Damselflies); and Spreadwing damselflies.

1. Family Calopterygidae – Broad-winged Damselflies
2. Family Coenagrionidae – Narrow-winged Damselflies
3. Family Lestidae – Spreadwings

Note: Family Platystictidae (Shadowdamsels) is the fourth family of damselflies in the USA. Desert Shadowdamsel (Palaemnema domina) is the only member of this family. P. domina is rare, known to occur only in Arizona in the southwestern United States.

1. Family Calopterygidae is comprised of two genera.

• Calopteryx (e.g., Ebony Jewelwing)
• Hetaerina (e.g., American Rubyspot)

2. Family Coenagrionidae is comprised of 14 genera. Three genera are common in Northern Virginia: Argia (Dancers); Enallagma (American Bluets); and Ischnura (Forktails).

• Argia (e.g., Blue-fronted Dancer, Blue-tipped Dancer, Variable Dancer)
• Enallagma (e.g., Big Bluet, Familiar Bluet, Orange Bluet, Stream Bluet)
• Ischnura (e.g., Eastern Forktail, Fragile Forktail, Rambur’s Forktail)

3. Family Lestidae is comprised of two genera.

• Archilestes (e.g., Great Spreadwing)
• Lestes (e.g., Slender Spreadwing, Southern Spreadwing, Swamp Spreadwing)

There are relatively few genera of Broad-winged Damselflies and Spreadwing Damselflies. In contrast, there are many more genera and species of Narrow-winged Damselflies — more species, including many that look similar, makes this family the most challenging to learn!

Related Resource: “The Odonata of North America” is a complete list of both scientific names and common names for damselflies and dragonflies, maintained by the Dragonfly Society of the Americas.

An interactive version of the same species list is available from the Odonata Central Web site. The master list can be filtered in many ways. Location is perhaps the most useful filter.

For example, my good friend Mike Boatwright lives in Amherst County, Virginia USA. Click on the blue button labeled “Filter Results.” Then click the down arrow in the Location field, enter “Amherst” and select the complete location name that appears in a list of available options; click the “Apply Filtering” button. You should see a list of 97 species of odonates reported to occur in Amherst County, including 10 species in the genus Enallagma. Notice that Familiar Bluet is on the list, as well as several species of Enallagma that aren’t found where I live in Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

HMK at HMP

14 OCT 2020 | HMP | Handsome Meadow Katydid (female)

The preceding photograph shows a female Handsome Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum pulchellum) perched on the boardwalk that goes through the central wetland area at Huntley Meadows Park (HMP), Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

Blue eyes are a good field mark for identifying Handsome Meadow Katydids. Notice the long, curved, reddish, scimitar-shaped structure extending from the posterior end of the abdomen. It’s an ovipositor that female katydids …

… use to insert eggs into hiding places … which can be in crevices on plants or even inside plant tissues [endophytic oviposition]. Source Credit: Matt Pelikan, BugGuide group on Facebook.

I like the way the reddish-pink American tearthumb (Persicaria sagittata) flowers in the background complement the color palette of the katydid.

Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Service call for HMP weather station

The following photo gallery shows David M. Lawlor, Natural Resource Manager at Huntley Meadows Park (HMP), Fairfax County, Virginia USA, working to repair the automated weather observation station located in the central wetland area.

According to Dave, the components of the weather station were working properly although data couldn’t be accessed remotely.

The first photo shows Dave getting out a volt meter in order to check battery voltage and power to the weather station data logger.

14 OCT 2020 | Huntley Meadows Park | David M. Lawlor

The next photo shows Dave preparing to connect a laptop computer to the data logger.

14 OCT 2020 | Huntley Meadows Park | David M. Lawlor

Dave testing battery voltage and power to data logger…

14 OCT 2020 | Huntley Meadows Park | David M. Lawlor

14 OCT 2020 | Huntley Meadows Park | David M. Lawlor

14 OCT 2020 | Huntley Meadows Park | David M. Lawlor

The last photo shows Dave using a laptop computer, connected to the data logger, in an attempt to diagnose the connection issue.

14 OCT 2020 | Huntley Meadows Park | David M. Lawlor

The Backstory

During a photowalk with Michael Powell along the boardwalk that goes through the hemi-marsh at Huntley Meadows Park, we ran into Dave Lawlor when he was about to go overboard into the wetlands.

Related Resource

New HMP Weather Station (posted on 10 December 2016) – Real-time weather data was available from the old weather station, installed and maintained by Virginia Tech University, until it went offline after 23 September 2016. We look forward to a time when the new weather station goes online for public access.

In the meantime, real-time weather data is available at a new exhibit located just inside the front doors of the HMP Visitor Center.

Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly (male)

An Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum vicinum) was perched along the boardwalk that goes through the central wetland area at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

This individual is a male, as indicated by his reddish coloration and terminal appendages.

14 OCT 2020 | Huntley Meadows Park | Autumn Meadowhawk (male)

The boardwalk deck and railings are a composite material made from recycled plastic milk bottles. In my opinion, those surfaces provide a “cleaner background” that enables the viewer to focus on the subject easier than if it were posed against a more natural setting. So if the goal is to teach people how to identify common odonates, then the boardwalk is an ideal “studio” for photographing dragonflies.

Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.