New Life List additions in 2018 (odonates)

The anticipation of the hunt and the thrill of discovery — the adrenalin rush from finding the target species is ever more elusive as one gains experience and expertise. Accordingly, the number of additions to my Life List is fewer year after year.

Editor’s Note: List items are presented in chronological order, based upon the date of the spotting.

Twin-spotted Spiketail

A Twin-spotted Spiketail dragonfly (Cordulegaster maculata) was spotted at an undisclosed location in Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is a male.

07 MAY 2018 | Fairfax County, VA | Twin-spotted Spiketail (male)

Brown Spiketail (male)

A Brown Spiketail dragonfly (Cordulegaster bilineata) was spotted at an undisclosed location in Fairfax County, Virginia USA. I saw a female Brown Spiketail on 09 May 2013. This individual is one of several males that I spotted on 07 and 11 May 2018.

11 MAY 2018 | Fairfax County, VA | Brown Spiketail (male)

Gray Petaltail

A Gray Petaltail dragonfly (Tachopteryx thoreyi) was spotted at a forest seep. This individual is a male with a malformed abdomen that I nicknamed “Bender.”

06 JUN 2018 | Northern Virginia | Gray Petaltail (male)

Sable Clubtail

A Sable Clubtail dragonfly (Stenogomphurus rogersi) was spotted perched near a small stream located in Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is a male.

08 JUN 2018 | Fairfax County, VA | Sable Clubtail (male)

Citrine Forktail damselfly (male)

A Citrine Forktail damselfly (Ischnura hastata) was spotted during a stream-walk along South Fork Quantico Creek in Prince William Forest Park (PWFP), Prince William County, Virginia USA. This individual is a male.

26 JUN 2018 | PWFP | Citrine Forktail (male)

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Next post: Recognition in 2018.

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Stream Bluet damselflies (mating pair, in tandem)

A mating pair of Stream Bluet damselflies (Enallagma exsulans) was spotted during a stream-walk along South Fork Quantico Creek in Prince William Forest Park (PWFP), Prince William County, Virginia USA. This pair is in tandem.

After copulation, Stream Bluet engages in a form of guarding behavior known as “contact guarding,” in which the male and female fly “in tandem” to egg-laying sites. Contact guarding is used by some species of odonates to prevent aggressive males from hijacking the female.

26 JUN 2018 | PWFP | Stream Bluet (mating pair, in tandem)

Female E. exsulans is polymorphic, including two morphs: green or blue thorax; abdomen similar to male for both morphs. The female shown in the preceding photo is a green morph.

Look closely at the posterior end of the female’s abdomen. All female damselflies (and some species of dragonflies) use an ovipositor to insert fertilized eggs into vegetation (endophytic oviposition). Notice the white spheroid at the tip of her ovipositor. That’s either a single egg or egg cluster/mass, probably the former.

Now look at the male. He appears to be “recharging” for mating again: Sperm is transferred from the genital opening under abdominal segment nine (S9) to the secondary genitalia located under abdominal segment two (S2). Remember all dragonflies and damselflies have a 10-segmented abdomen.

Editor’s Notes

Thanks to my good friend Mike Boatwright, administrator of the Virginia Odonata Facebook group, for verifying my tentative identification of the species of damselfly. Also thanks to Sue Gregoire, Kestrel Haven Migration Observatory, for sharing her expert opinion that my photo shows a single egg at the tip of the female’s ovipositor.

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Black-shouldered Spinyleg dragonfly (male)

A Black-shouldered Spinyleg dragonfly (Dromogomphus spinosus) was spotted during a stream-walk along South Fork Quantico Creek in Prince William Forest Park (PWFP), Prince William County, Virginia USA. This is my first-of-year sighting of this species.

26 JUN 2018 | PWFP | Black-shouldered Spinyleg (male)

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

26 JUN 2018 | PWFP | Black-shouldered Spinyleg (male)

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Citrine Forktail damselfly (male)

A Citrine Forktail damselfly (Ischnura hastata) was spotted during a stream-walk along South Fork Quantico Creek in Prince William Forest Park (PWFP), Prince William County, Virginia USA. This individual is a male, as indicated by his coloration and terminal appendages.

26 JUN 2018 | PWFP | Citrine Forktail (male)

Citrine Forktail is the smallest species of damselfly in North America. Maybe that explains why it took so long to add Citrine to my life list of odonates!

Every reference I have read says Citrine habitat is lentic, that is, it prefers ponds and lakes rather than the lotic habit where I found the individual shown above. I wish I had carried one of my camera kits for macro photography, but I didn’t expect to see Citrine along a mid-size stream.

Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.