Twan and I spent the weekend searching for and netting various dragonflies and damselflies across Chautauqua County in a “divide and conquer” sweep of as many sites as we could hit. The number of natural areas we have to search is overwhelming. While surveying we also recorded birds, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians…you get the picture. It’s a sensory overload!
Last year we added several new odonate county records in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Warren and more. This included the Delta-spotted Spiketail mere minutes from RTPI. I was able to find another population of the species in a second location in Chautauqua County on Sunday, snapping a record shot before fortunately netting it as well. On Saturday I netted a pair of Northern Pygmy Clubtails in Chautauqua marking what appears to be another new county record, the first for us of 2014. Here they are along with many other friends I made this past Saturday and Sunday.
Northern Pygmy Clubtail (Lanthus parvulus) female
Northern Pygmy Clubtail (Lanthus parvulus) male
Aurora Damsel (Chromagrion conditum)
Beaverpond Baskettail (Epitheca canis)
Dot-tailed Whiteface (Leucorrhinia intacta) teneral
Eastern Forktail (Ischnura verticalis)
Sedge Sprite (Nehalennia irene)
Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia)
Delta-spotted Spiketail (Cordulegaster diastatops)
Delta-spotted Spiketail (Cordulegaster diastatops) record shot
Dot-tailed Whiteface (Leucorrhinia intacta)
Harlequin Darner (Gomphaeschna furcillata)
Skimming Bluet (Enallagma geminatum)
I record all of my odonate sightings in extensive personal records which then go into OdonataCentral. Twan will be bringing us stupendous Meet Your Neighbours style photos of many of these odes all week. Look for them on our Facebook page, Twitter account or here on our website in the media section. I cannot wait to see what else we can discover for the first time in this abundant region this summer!
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
