Harlequin Darner
I was very jealous of Twan once I saw this! He took a quick photo of a Harlequin Darner (Gomphaeschna furcillata) that was visiting his yard earlier this week, a beautiful, friendly and often interactive dragonfly species that can be found in the early spring in a variety of wooded, and of course wet, habitats. Harlequin Darners are known to land on you if you are standing in the woodlands, avoiding your net and then deciding your hat or the leg of your pants is a good place to hang out. They have landed on my head, my arm, my chest, my leg, my foot…and I want to have one find me soon!...
Read MoreHarlequin Darners (Gomphaeschna furcillata)
Here are both male and female Harlequin Darners (Gomphaeschna furcillata), a friendly species that will even land on you. Never fear and enjoy their company – dragonflies do not sting!
Read MoreDragonflies and damselflies weekend
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...
Read MoreDragonflies emerging!
The Western New York dragonfly and damselfly populations really exploded this Memorial Day weekend during a lovely stretch of sun and 70 or 80 degree days. I found them to be emerging just about everywhere I went with suitable habitat. We certainly have plenty of water after the several inches of rain we received in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region in the last couple of weeks which will make it all the better for a productive season ahead. I already mentioned the Dot-tailed Whitefaces emerging in multiple locations. A couple more species I wanted to highlight are the Beaverpond Baskettail...
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