Volume I, Number I - April, 1994
Hi! Welcome to the first issue of Ode News! The inspiration for this newsletter came during an exciting summer observing dragonflies and damselflies in 1993. We made a great splash (sometimes literally!) into the world of odonates, observing approximately 50 species, and visiting about 30 different sites. After spending many hours in the summer sun, with sweat pouring down our faces, desperately trying to catch even a glimpse of the dragonflies whizzing by us (not to mention putting up with the ferocious Eastern Toe Biters!), we suddenly realized we were quite serious about odes. And the wheels started to turn . . .How about creating a census form so that data will be comparable from year to year? How about an annual Dragonfly Count, similar to the 4th of July Butterfly Count? How about a newsletter to keep all those interested updated about the status of odes on the Cape?
The format of Ode News no doubt will evolve with time.
We are amateur newsletterologists as well as odonatologists. However,
our feeling is that the more notes we take and the more people
we have contact with, the more everyone will learn and the better
able we will be to help odes when they need it most! Please write
if you have any ideas for the newsletter, or if you want to submit
anything for future issues!
CONTENTS
Fun and frustration filled the summer of 1993. As beginners we sometimes spent hours trying to identify just one individual. We understand for identification of some species it is necessary to catch individuals with nets and to look at them in the hand. In 1994, we'll probably try this and hopefully have some luck! We wouldn't have gotten very far at all last summer if it hadn't been for Ginger Carpenter's book, The Dragonflies and Damselflies of Cape Cod. Also very helpful was Sidney Dunkle's book, Dragonflies of the Florida Peninsula, Bermuda, and the Bahamas. We looked for odes in all corners of the Cape - from Provincetown south to the Monomoy Islands and west across the mid-Cape to the Elizabeth Islands. Unfortunately we were so caught up in identification and photography that field notes were often forgotten. But we did take enough to come up with the following highlights of the 1993 season:
Single male Long-legged
Green Darners (Anax longipes) were observed on three
different occasions at Gould's Pond in Orleans. This dragon is
a species of Special Concern in Massachusetts, and previously
had not been recorded east of Dennis. The first sighting was on
4 July. A male of this species was also seen at Mary Dunn Pond
in Hyannis on 6 July.
At least two unidentified
blue darners (genus Aeshna) were seen at a vernal
pool in Eastham on 14 June. At first we thought they were Black-tipped
Darners (Aeshna tuberculifera), but Ginger records the
flight period of this species as late July through early September.
The early date suggests the possibility of Spring Blue Darner
(Aeshna mutata, also known as the Spatterdock Darner),
a species listed as state Endangered, recorded only once before
on Cape Cod (7 June 1987 in Brewster by Ginger) and very rarely
anywhere in Massachusetts. These two species are extremely similar
in appearance and are safely identified only in the hand. We will
make a special effort to solve this mystery in 1994!
One Black-shouldered
Spinyleg (Dromogomphus spinosus) was observed resting
on the sand at Hawksnest Pond in Harwich on 24 August. This was
our only sighting of this handsome dragon during 1993.
Single Swift River
Cruisers (Macromia illinoiensis) were observed at three
different sites: flying along a dirt road in the Punkhorn Parklands
in Brewster on 3 August; patroling along a dirt road near Higgins
Pond in Wellfleet on 9 August; and flying and roosting along a
woodland path near Elbow Pond in Brewster on 16 August.
A Frosted Whiteface
(Leucchorinia frigida) was observed at a vernal pool
in Eastham on 14 June. Ginger recorded this early-flying species
from Bourne and Falmouth to Hyannis, but did not find it on the
Outer Cape.
A Great-crested Flycatcher
sallying out from a limb after Common Green Darners (Anax junius).
Two unidentified hornets
(possibly bald-faced, genus Vespula) devouring a Sympetrum
in what seemed like seconds.
A Swamp Spreadwing (Lestes
vigilax) eating a Common Forktail (Ischnura verticalis)
- head, then thorax, then abdomen, letting the wings drop to the
water.
An aeshnid, probably
a Black-tipped Darner (Aeshna tuberculifera), foraging
among the upper branches of Pitch Pines (Pinus rigida)
- it seemed to be snatching or spooking insects directly off the
branches/needles of the trees.
Early May
Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita)
Lancet Clubtail (Gomphus exilis)
Mid May
Variegated Damsel (Chromagrion conditum)
Northern Bluet (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Common Forktail (Ischnura verticalis)
Little Corporal (Libellula deplanata)
Corporal Skimmer (Libellula exusta)
Late May
Civil Bluet (Enallagma civile)
Doubleday's Bluet (Enallagma doubledayi)
Lateral Bluet (Enallagma laterale)
Barrens Bluet (Enallagma recurvatum)
Common Baskettail (Epitheca cynosura)
Stream Cruiser (Didymops transversa)
Johnny Whiteface (Leucorrinhia intacta)
Whitetail (Libellula lydia)
June
Lateral Bluet (Enallagma laterale)
Little Corporal (Libellula deplanata)
Corporal Skimmer (Libellula exusta)
July
Amber-Winged Spreadwing (Lestes eurinus) *
Eastern Red Damsel (Amphiagrion saucium) *
Variegated Damselfly (Chromagrion conditum)
Northern Bluet (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Barrens Bluet (Enallagma recurvatum)
Sphagnum Sprite (Nehalennia gracilis) *
Common Baskettail (Epitheca cynosura)
Frosted Whiteface (Leucorrhinia frigida) *
Johnny Whiteface (Leucorrhinia intacta)
Bluebell (Nannothemis bella) *
* These species begin flying in June; all others
listed begin in May.
Baker's Pond is accessible from Airline Road. There is a small
dirt pull off on the east side of the road directly across from
the pond. It is possible to walk completely around the pond, as
long as the water level isn't too high. The pond is approximately
8 acres in size, with a maximum depth of 19 feet. The substrate
is mostly sand. The edges of the pond are vegetated with typical
coastal plain pond species: Plymouth Gentian (Sabatia Kennedyana),
Rose Coreopsis (Coreopsis rosea), Virginia Meadow Beauty
(Rhexia virginica), Golden Hedge-hyssop (Gratiola aurea),
sundews (Drosera species) and various rushes (Juncus
species). Care is needed to protect these fragile plants while
walking along the pond shore. This was one of the most active
sites we visited during the 1993 season. Ginger has recorded 34
species of dragonflies and damselflies here, and we observed at
least 22 species last summer:
Spreadwings (Lestes species)
Evening Bluet (Enallagma vesperum)
Bluets (Enallagma species)
Speartail (Ischnura hastata)
Common Forktail (Ischnura verticalis)
Common Green Darner (Anax junius)
Sand Dragon (Progomphus obscurus)
The Prince (Epitheca princeps)
Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa)
Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina)
Martha's Pennant (Celithemis martha)
Banded Pennant (Celithemis monomelaena)
Green Jacket (Erythemis simplicicollis)
Goldenwings (Libellula auripennis)
Black-faced Skimmer (Libellula cyanea)
Damson Skimmer (Libellula incesta)
Blue Pirate (Pachydiplax longipennis)
Amberwings (Perithemis tenera)
Ruby Meadowfly (Sympetrum rubicundulum)
Saffron-bordered Meadowfly (Sympetrum costiferum)
Yellow-legged Meadowfly (Sympetrum vicinum)
Red Saddlebags (Tramea carolina)
Among the first signs of the ode season on Cape Cod is the appearance
of the diminutive, colorful damselflies known as forktails. The
genus Ischnura comprises at least 13 and perhaps as many
as 15 species in North America, the exact number varying depending
upon the source consulted. Five species have been found in Massachusetts
and all of these are known from Cape Cod, though one only from
historical records.
The forktails are among the smallest of the damselflies, with
most only about an inch or so in length. The common name derives
from a minute forked projection at the tip of the male's abdomen.
They are a brightly and variably colored lot: some species are
polymorphic, occurring in several color forms (particularly the
females). To complicate matters further, in some cases the color
changes with age (they're as bad as birds!). A unique feature
of this genus is that the forewing stigma is a different color
and shape from the stigma on the rear wing.
The Common Forktail
(Ischnura verticalis) is one of our most characteristic
odes, abundantly present in a wide variety of habitats from early
May into September. The males are black and flourescent green,
with bright emerald green eyes. The thorax is green on the sides
and black on top, with two distinct, narrow green shoulder stripes.
The abdomen is mostly irridescent black on the upper surface,
with a conspicuous bright blue "taillight" near the
tip. The confusing females come in several color phases, the most
common being orange and black, and often change color as they
mature.
The Fragile Forktail
(Ischnura posita) is also common on Cape Cod, though it
is not as widespread or numerous as the previous species. The
males are very similar to male Common Forktails, but can be distinguished
rather easily (at close range) by the lack of a blue "taillight"
and by the two shoulder stripes, which are broken, forming two
green exclamation points "!!". The females are pale
blue to grayish but typically show the characteristic exclamation
points.
The Speartail
(Ischnura hastata), also known as the Citrine Forktail,
is a very small, dainty species, quite local in distribution on
Cape Cod. The males are lemony yellow and black with a tiny red
forewing stigma. Young females are orange and black, but become
grayish to olive as they age. This is a shy, easily overlooked
species; they prefer areas of dense vegetation with little water
where they skulk low among the rushes and grasses.
Two species, Kellicott's
(or Lilypad) Forktail (Ischnura kellicotti) and Rambur's
Forktail (Ischnura ramburii) apparently are very rare
in this area, the latter known only from an historic record. At
least one Kellicott's has been collected here recently, at Elbow
Pond in Brewster by Ginger on 13 July 1990.
Unlike birders, budding odonatologists are severely handicapped
by a dearth of guides for the layman. Most references are very
technical and geared toward in-the-hand examination of minute
anatomical features. The following three publications are exceptions
and highly recommended for "Cape Codonatologists":
Carpenter, Virginia.
1991. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Cape Cod. Shank Painter
Printing Co. Inc., Provincetown, MA. A nicely illustrated and
delightfully written introductory guide. A watershed publication
and the "Bible" for those of us in this area.
Dunkle, Sidney W. 1989.
Dragonflies of the Florida Peninsula, Bermuda, and the Bahamas.
Scientific Publishers Nature Guides, Washington D.C. Profusely
illustrated with color photos; although covering an area 1,500+
miles distant, many of the species occur in the northeast.
Dunkle, Sidney W. 1990.
Damselflies of Florida, Bermuda, and the Bahamas. Scientific
Publishers Nature Guides, Washington D.C. A companion volume to
the above; both are highly recommended.
If you are interested in ordering
any of the books listed above, you might want to contact Patricia Ledlie!
Corbet, Philip S. 1963.
A Biology of Dragonflies. Quadrangle Books, Inc., Chicago,
IL. Out-of-print, but considered an excellent introduction to
the biology and natural history of odes.
Garman, Philip. 1927.
The Odonata or Dragonflies of Connecticut. State Geological
and Natural History Survey, Hartford, CT. A very technical manual,
long out-of-print and not easily found.
Gibbs, R.H. Jr. and S.P.
Gibbs. 1954. "The Odonata of Cape Cod, Massachusetts."
Journal of the New York Entomological Society, Volume 62: 167-184.
Needham, James G. and
Minter S. Westfall, Jr. 1954. The Dragonflies of North America.
University of California Press. "The" manual to North
American dragonflies; technical descriptions but virtually no
natural history. Still in print but expensive ($90).
Walker, E.M. 1953. The
Odonata of Canada and Alaska, Volume I, The Damselflies.
Walker, E.M. 1958. The
Odonata of Canada and Alaska, Volume II, The Dragonflies in
part.
Walker, Edmund M. and
Philip S. Corbet. 1975. The Odonata of Canada and Alaska, Volume
III: The Anisoptera - Three Families. University of Toronto
Press. An out-of-print, three volume set. Technical, but with
very readable and informative sections on the natural history
of each species. Good luck finding a copy!
Editorial Staff & Production - Blair Nikula & Jackie Sones
Illustrations - Fahy Bygate
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