On September 7 the RTPI conservation staff enjoyed some incredibly successful field work while joined by a couple of friends. We took a trip south to Pennsylvania to search for conservation priority species. For now let’s look at a couple of the odonates we discovered there. Here’s a male American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana), a gorgeous damselfly that was found in the dozens all over the locations we visited.
Additionally there were probably hundreds of the Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta). This male is a relatively bright chalky white yet it seems to fit in well on this rock in the middle of fast-flowing water.
We also recoreded the occasional Dusky Dancer (Argia translata) and Variable Dancer (Argia fumipennis) while walking the waters. What was our main target? Something far different, the Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis). We will show you the results of our surveys in the next post!
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Photos © Scott Kruitbosch
