Familiar Bluets
Here we have a pair of Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile) damselflies in a “wheel”, a male and female joined together for mating. They are perched at a pond in this case but they can also fly this way. The male will likely remain with her until she lays the eggs. We are about to enter the prime flight time for our odonata – get out there to any local bodies of water to see what you can find. We will continue to survey for them across the Northeast to gain a greater knowledge of their distribution and abundance plus the health of our waterways.
Read MoreBlue Dasher Stare
You feel like having a staring contest? This Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) is game. Good luck! You’re going to need it…
Read MoreSpot-winged Glider
Today was the best day that I have experienced so far this year for migratory insects! Red Admiral and Monarch butterflies were on the wing, and dozens of dozens of dragonflies were zipping by including Common Green Darners, Black Saddlebags, Carolina Saddlebags, Swamp Darners, Wandering Gliders and Spot-winged Gliders (Pantala hymenaea) like this one. You can see the spots of this very difficult to catch species here. Keep an eye out for Sean’s Meet Your Neighbour photo of it sometime soon. So much more life is emerging every day now that we have entered the summer, and it is so...
Read MoreComet Darner (Anax longipes)
I was very happy to find a local breeding population of the spectacular Comet Darner (Anax longipes) during our ongoing assessment of the Chautauqua-Allegheny region’s dragonflies and damselflies. These are the 747s of the dragonfly world, but in fire truck red. What more could you want? Photographed for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. Twan Leenders RTPI President
Read MoreLightning Strike
There has been a lot of inclement weather lately! One good thing about all of the heavy rain and thunderstorms is that our waterways will be filled for reptiles, amphibians, odonates, and many other creatures. It may not make our work easier – for example, the Spiny Softshell Turtles are going to be a tough study for now – but it is certainly a far better fate than the droughts of places like California. Thankfully for them we have signs of a strengthening El Niño, the periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean’s surface temperatures, that may already be giving them slight...
Read More
