The time is now!

Happy New Year! Let the yearning begin. Wait, what? Yep, I’m fighting feeling like I can’t wait for the start of the new odonate hunting season.

Realistically it will be a few months before adult dragonflies and damselflies are flying again, but that’s a good thing. Wait, did I just say that? Yes, and here’s why.

The odonate hunting “off season” provides a good opportunity to plan for the next campaign by making a list of target species and laying out when and where to look for them.

Why is it important to make a plan? Because the season starts slowly but explodes quickly. To illustrate my point, take a look at my Odonate Calendar for adult flight dates of dragonfly species for the month of February (shown below). Not much happening until the end of the month, right?

Dragonflies (VA Flight Dates) | February 2022

Now look at March (shown below). There’s an explosion of species beginning around the second week in March. The boom continues into July before slowing down noticeably in August.

Dragonflies (VA Flight Dates) | March 2022

Also notice many of the spring species of dragonflies are habitat specialists that require extra time and effort to find. So my advice is start planning now for a more productive and satisfying season of odonate hunting.

Related Resources

Both of the following resources feature online, interactive calendars for dragonflies and damselflies based upon Dr. Steve Roble’s excellent datasets for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

• Odonate calendars updated for 2021 – a blog post from March 2021
• Odonate Calendars – a permanent page in my blog

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Dark and moody

I spotted an emergent Uhler’s Sundragon (Helocordulia uhleri) during a photowalk along a mid-size stream at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA. The following photograph shows the exuvia from which the teneral adult emerged.

13 APR 2021 | PNC. Wm. County, VA | Uhler’s Sundragon | exuvia (ventral)

In the opinion of the author, larvae (nymphs)/exuviae from Family Corduliidae (Emeralds) and Family Libellulidae (Skimmers) can be challenging to differentiate and identify to the family level.

One way to differentiate Emerald from Skimmer larvae/exuvia is to look for a “ventromedial groove” in the prementum: it’s probably Corduliidae (Emeralds) if there is a ventromedial groove; it’s probably Libellulidae if there isn’t.

Look closely at a version of the preceding photo that was reformatted, rotated, and cropped to show an enlarged view of the prementum. You should notice a ventromedial groove on the basal half of the prementum, indicating this specimen is a member of Family Corduliidae (Emeralds).

13 APR 2021 | PNC. Wm. County, VA | Uhler’s Sundragon | exuvia (ventral)

Three raised structures on the underside of the prementum remind me of the hood ornament on a 1949 Lincoln automobile. (No, I wasn’t alive in 1949!)

Related Resources

• Uhler’s Sundragon dragonfly (emergent female)
• Ventromedial groove

Tech Tips

One reason I underexposed the photo is to add definition to the ventromedial groove and avoid overexposing the black background.

I prefer a white background for photographing odonate exuviae. Using a black background proved to be more challenging than I expected. More later in a follow-up blog post.

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Bridge across Quantico Creek

The following photos show a small wooden bridge across Quantico Creek, near Burma Road in Prince William Forest Park, Prince William County, Virginia USA.

13 MAY 2021 | PNC. Wm. Forest Park | bridge across Quantico Creek

If you like bridges that bounce when you walk across them, then this is the bridge for you! I prefer bridges that are rock-solid.

13 MAY 2021 | PNC. Wm. Forest Park | bridge across Quantico Creek

Related Resource: All posts in my blog tagged with the word “bridge.”

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Post update: Stylurus sp. exuvia

Three years ago I had the honor and pleasure of helping Michael Boatwright, my good friend and odonate hunting buddy, identify an interesting exuvia that he collected on 13 July 2018 at an undisclosed location in Amherst County, Virginia USA.

After working through several dichotomous keys for the identification of odonate larvae/exuviae, Mike and I determined the specimen is most likely from Zebra Clubtail (Stylurus scudderi). Zebra Clubtail is extremely rare in the state of Virginia.

The following annotated image shows a dorsal view of the exuvia.

13 JUL 2018 | Amherst County, VA USA | Stylurus scudderi (exuvia)

The best way to confirm our tentative identification of the exuvia is to find adult Zebra Clubtail at the same location. Easier said than done! During the next few years, Mike found more exuviae but no adults.

On 22 July 2021, years of searching the site finally came to fruition when Mike discovered a teneral female Zebra Clubtail, shown below.

Photo used with written permission from Mike Boatwright.

Look closely at the full-size version of the preceding photo. Notice the teneral dragonfly is perched on the exuvia from which it emerged. Mike collected the exuvia after the dragonfly flew high into the tree canopy, so now we have the type specimen for verification of other exuviae.

Persistence pays

Sincere congratulations, Mike! You never gave up when it would have been the easier thing to do.

Related Resources

• Stylurus sp. exuvia – a blog post by Walter Sanford providing a detailed account of the process used to determine the identity of the specimen collected by Mike on 13 July 2018.
• Mike’s post in the Virginia Odonata Facebook group announcing his discovery on 22 July 2021. Mike is the founder and administrator of Virginia Odonata.

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Zebra Swallowtail butterfly

A Zebra Swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus, Protographium marcellus) was spotted near a small pond at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.

17 JUN 2021 | Prince William County | Zebra Swallowtail

Notice the Zebra Swallowtail lost part of one of its tails, possibly the result of a close encounter with predator.

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

I was common, when common wasn’t cool.

A Common Whitetail dragonfly (Plathemis lydia) was observed during a photowalk along a mid-size stream at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.

This individual is an immature male, as indicated by his mostly brown coloration, pattern of wing spots, and terminal appendages.

13 MAY 2021 | PNC. Wm. County | Common Whitetail (immature male)

This photo is one of a few “warm-up shots” I took at the outset of my photowalk. I think it’s a good idea to be sure your camera gear is working as expected before you blow an opportunity to photograph something rare to uncommon by fiddling with camera settings.

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Ashy Clubtail dragonfly (male)

An Ashy Clubtail dragonfly (Phanogomphus lividus) was spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell along a mid-size stream at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.

13 MAY 2021 | Prince William County, VA | Ashy Clubtail (male)

This individual is a male, as indicated by his terminal appendages. A dorsal view of the same species shows the hind wings of Ashy males are “indented.” The male was perched on rocks, sand, and leaf litter deposited along the edges of the stream channel.

13 MAY 2021 | Prince William County, VA | Ashy Clubtail (male)

I’ve seen Ashy Clubtail dragonflies many times, but this was the first time I noticed their unusual flight pattern. Imagine a one-car roller coaster, going up and down smoothly while moving forward slowly. That’s the best way I can describe what I saw. You’ll recognize it when you see it — very distinctive!

My buddy Michael Boatwright, founder and administrator of the Virginia Odonata Facebook group, told me Lancet Clubtail (Phanogomphus exilis) has the same flight pattern.

Tech Tips

Both photos are full-frame (4,000 x 3,000 pixels), that is, uncropped. I considered cropping the photos to make the dragonfly appear larger. I decided to post the uncropped photos to show the smallish size of Ashy Clubtail more authentically. Click on each photo in order to see a full-size version that you can zoom-in on to see more detail.

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Turn! Turn! Turn!

Perceptive observers of nature notice gradual changes that indicate the change of season.

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven.
Source Credit: Turn! Turn! Turn! Song by The Byrds

For example, sighting a Spangled Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula cyanea) is a sure sign the subtle transition from spring to summer is underway.

13 MAY 2021 | PNC. Wm. County, VA | Spangled Skimmer (teneral female)

One of my mantras for wildlife photography is “Get a shot, any shot; refine the shot.” The preceding photo is one I took when I noticed the dragonfly; the following photo is one I took after slowly working my way into position for a better shot. Notice the dragonfly changed positions too, moving from one perch to another when I moved closer to her.

13 MAY 2021 | PNC. Wm. County, VA | Spangled Skimmer (teneral female)

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

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Stream Cruiser dragonfly (female)

A Stream Cruiser dragonfly (Didymops transversa) was spotted during a recent photowalk with Michael Powell along a mid-size stream at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.

This individual is a female, as indicated by her thick abdomen and terminal appendages.

13 MAY 2021 | Prince William County, VA | Stream Cruiser (female)

The female was perched in a large field near the same location where Mike Powell found a Stream Cruiser exuvia on 13 April 2021.

Related Resources

• Exuvia from Family Macromiidae (Cruisers) –  a blog post by Walter Sanford
• Didymops transversa (Stream Cruiser) – NatureServe Explorer

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Waiting for the sky to clear

A picturesque dam was visited during a recent photowalk with Michael Powell along a mid-size stream at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.

13 APR 2021 | Prince William County, VA

As you can see, the sky was completely overcast when the photograph was taken and the weather was cool and breezy. Not ideal conditions for odonate hunting, but hey, sometimes you just have to make lemonade from lemons by stopping to enjoy the beautiful scenery!

Tech Tips

I used Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC to edit the preceding photo. A graduated filter was used to enhance detail in clouds in the sky without making the shadows too dark in the rest of the image. The area affected by the graduated filter is highlighted in red, as shown in the following screen capture: I decreased the Exposure, affecting the clouds/sky); and increased the Shadows, affecting the tree tops.

The last screen capture shows the global adjustments I made to the entire photo using the Develop module — notice these settings are different from the settings for the selective adjustments I made using the graduated filter, shown above.

Related Resources

Two complementary videos demonstrate how to use the graduated filter in Adobe Lightroom: Matt Kloskowski shows a practical example of how to use a graduated filter to enhance the sky; Julieanne Kost provides an excellent tutorial that explains in detail how the graduated filter works.

• The Coolest Trick for Working With Skies in Adobe Lightroom, by KelbyOne (3:39) featuring Matt Kloskowski
• Lightroom CC – Using the Radial and Graduated Filters, by Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (7:43) featuring Julieanne Kost

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.