The Last Dragonflies of the Year

November has arrived and as expected there have already been a few days with a bit of wet snow and the temperature dropping below freezing at night, but Mother Nature was in a good mood on the 11th and the weather was sunny with the temperature hitting the 16°C mark. Warm enough that eleven male and twelve female Autumn Meadowhawks (Sympetrum vicinum) – including one tandem pair – were flying at a marsh about ½ kilometer west of Tweed (44.46889°, -77.31528°).

The latest local dragonfly I have encountered was a male Autumn Meadowhawk (what else?) on November 18th, 2009, but we experienced an exceptionally warm autumn that year. This year the weather is conforming to seasonal norms and the long range forecast calls for much cooler weather, so these will probably be the last dragonflies of 2014. (The last fliers, there are still lots of naiads under the ice for those who care to go and search for them rather than waiting until next summer.)

No other odonates made it into November but a few came fairly close, here are the runners-up for 2014:

Spotted Spreadwing (Lestes congener)
– three males, one female, October 27th, 2014
Lance-tipped Darner (Aeshna constricta)
– an old male, October 25th, 2014
Common Green Darner (Anax junius)
– one female, October 23th, 2014

An Equinoctial Odonate

Perhaps post-equinoctial would be more appropriate, as this immature male Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella) was encountered on September 24th, 2014 at the Tweed Fairgrounds (south-central Hastings County, Ontario).

The Twelve-spotted Skimmer is a summer dragonfly, the first local fliers were observed at the Vanderwater Conservation Area in mid-June, a couple of very old males on their last legs were sighted as recently as ten days ago. But this is a young dragonfly, as yet lacking the pruinescence on the abdomen typical of fully mature males, and to see one flying this late in the year – the second day of autumn – is unusual to say the least.

A female Saffron-winged Meadowhawk

East of Tweed, near a patch of wildflowers along Lakeview Lane (44.478429°, -77.301881°) – my third sighting of a Saffron-winged Meadowhawk this year (the other two were at Dry Lake, south of Marlbank). Sympetrum costiferum is larger – this individual measured 38 mm – and darker than the average Sympetrum apt to be encountered in our area, and it has a habit of perching on the ground.

As with other Sympetrum, the female Saffron-winged Meadowhawks is orange (compare to the red abdomen and brown thorax of the male).

The veins along the leading edges of the wings are saffron colored and the pterostigmata are long and pale orange.

Closeups of the face ...

... and its genital plate, a part of the dragonfly's anatomy that is unique and distinctive for each species.

A Late Season Common Whitetail

Encountered west of Tweed near a marsh bordering the trans-Canada Trail (44.46889°, -77.31528°) – a surprising find as the final few surviving Common Whitetails (Plathemis lydia) were flying nearly a month ago, and no others have been sighted until now. The last sighting in this area was a male on August 18, 2014 near the intersection of River St. and the trans-Canada Trail (44.473668°, -77.312911°).

The dulled colors aside, this female is in really good condition with no wear and tear on the wings, it was extremely wary and alert and it sure could fly. Half an hour of patient stalking were required to capture the agile odonate.

As of today – September 17th, 2104 – the dragonfly is still alive and well. Sad to say, her days are numbered. Even if she manages to evade the Darners patrolling the marsh (six species currently known – and lots of them!) the first frost of autumn lies in the not too distant future ...

Adult dragonflies can live for a few weeks if they don't fall victim to predators or the elements. Looking at the lackluster colors of the eyes and thorax and the frayed wings of this male Common Green Darner (Anax junius), one can only wonder how old it might be.

An superannuated female Lance-tipped Darner (Aeshna constricta). Again, the coloration and patterning – originally a beautiful yellow-green – is obscured, the cerci are broken, and the wings have obviously seen their fair share of use and abuse.

The colors of this male Canada Darner's (Aeshna canadensis) are fairly bright and only the whitish discoloration and ragged edges of the wings suggest its age.

The dragonfly's face, however, was something of a shock – the brown clypeus is hardly typical of this species. Discoloration of the exoskeleton due to old age? Or an aberrantly colored individual?

Saffron-winged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum costiferum)

Attaining a length of up to 35 mm (± 2 mm), the Saffron-winged Meadowhawk appears larger in the field than the average Sympetrum spp, approaching the size of a Blue Dasher. This meadowhawk's behaviour also quite different from that of its cousins, it's wary and extremely difficult to approach, staying on the wing for long periods, and preferring to rest on the vegetation over the water rather than the shoreline plants.

The Saffron-winged Meadowhawk is reputed to be local and uncommon, and I had always considered it to be rare as it's seldom encountered in this neck of the woods, my last (and to date, only!) sighting was at Stoco Lake in early August, 2009.

But perhaps it isn't so uncommon after all, maybe successful "dragonhunting" is a matter of finding suitable habitat first and then looking for the dragonfly. Dry Lake, south of Marlbank near the intersection of Hog's Back Road and Moneymore Road (44.419895°, -77.107758°), is quite unlike other local wetlands – it's shallow and very calcerous, with a slimy, limy bottom, and several fen indicator plant species were present along the shoreline.

As often as not, different water conditions and plant life generally mean a different suite of dragonflies ... and on the afternoon of August 24, I lucked out and sighted two Saffron-winged Meadowhawks.

The sides of the Saffron-winged Meadowhawk's thorax are a rusty brown color, giving the insect a distinctly darker aspect in the field than other meadowhawks (we're talking about the mature male in these photos, females and young males are yellow-orange). According to the books the legs have fine yellow stripes, a feature lacking in this individual, but perhaps (this is guesswork on my part) this is an older insect and the marks on the legs have faded with age.

The veins along the front edges of the wings are saffron (this fades with increasing age), and the sides of the abdomen bear relatively thin black lateral markings rather than the large triangles of most of our other local Sympetrum species.

S8 and S9 usually have small black dorsal marks.

A mug shot.

The long pterostigmata are reddish-orange.

A ventral view of the abdomen and a closeup of the epiporoct.

The Dragonflies of Drag Lake

Drag Lake is located about 7.25 km west of Tweed , at 44.443129°, -77.391084° along the trans-Canada Trail according to Google Maps. The lake appears to be rock-bottomed – calcerous, judging by the surrounding geology – with relatively shallow water, and the parts of the shoreline are bordered by marshes. Some odonates can be particular with regard to their habitat requirements and for whatever reason the Dusky Clubtail is plentiful at this body of water.

With a length of 50 mm ± 5 mm, Gomphus spicatus is larger than the Lancet Clubtail (44 mm ± 5 mm). As its name suggests the Dusky Clubtail tends to be darker than its cousin, lacking the Lancet Clubtail's yellow dorsal stripe on S9.

However, the dragonflies can vary in color and Gomphids are notorious for their mutable chromatic complexions in any event, with yellow becoming green and eventually changing to bluish-gray with increasing age. Both the Dusky and Lancet Clubtails can sport a pale yellow streak on S9 making this unreliable means of separating the two species. For a positive ID it's necessary to examine the claspers and/or genitalia.

Like most Gomphidae a.k.a. Clubtails, Dusky Clubtails perch on the ground or other horizontal surfaces such as low leaves. They are fairly tame (the individuals in these photos were captured by hand) and can often be approached closely, whereupon the lateral spines on the male's cerci are clearly visible.

The cerci also have a distinct ventral spine.

The male's secondary genitalia, looking at this picture the words such as baroque, labyrinthine and convoluted come to mind ...

The abdomens of the females tend to be more robust than those of males. The distribution of the sexes was rather odd, with thirty one males but only two females being encountered.

A macro of the female's genital plate.

There were plenty of exuviae scattered along the shoreline but none belonging to the Dusky Clubtail were in evidence. Although unconfirmed as yet (the images are at BugGuide.Net) the largest exoskeletons probably belonged to Epitheca princeps, the Prince Baskettail – but no Prince Baskettails were seen flying.

EDIT ... the response from BugGuide.Net: if there are four setae on the edges of the palps (which there are) the exuviae belong to Epitheca princeps. Also, according to this key at Odonata Larvae of Michigan the dorsal surface of prementum should be setose, which is the case in the specimens. So Epitheca princeps it is.

Four teneral female Calico Pennants (Celithemis elisa) were also sighted perching in the tall grasses, and apparently this dragonfly also finds the atmosphere of Drag Lake convivial. The Calico Pennant is not uncommon at other wetland habitats in south-central Hastings County, but in the coming summer months uncountable numbers of these colorful little skimmers can be found flying at Drag Lake.

The Belted Whiteface (Leucorrhinia proxima) and the Frosted Whiteface (Leucorrhinia frigida) are another pair of dragonflies that can be tough to distinguish at a glance. They are very similar in size, coloration and patterning, and both species develop pruinosity on the first few abdominal segments.

This Belted Whiteface was captured near a marsh a couple of kilometers east of Drag Lake, and examination of the hamules (top) and claspers (bottom) is the best means of distinguishing it from the Frosted Whiteface.

A Few Notes on Water Nymphs

It's inevitable that the "bugs" which generally pique the interest of most people are the adult form of the insect. The colorfully patterned wings of a butterfly or the iridescent elytra of a beetle that catch our eyes do so because in many cases insects are flying around trying to attract attention – that of a potential mate. The colors might be aposematic, bright, bold and arranged in striking patterns, a warning saying "don't mess with me". Or as often as not, an insect gets noticed because it's just plain weird and bizarre, it's so different that it almost qualifies as an alien form of life.

Ditto for dragonflies and damselflies – they're generally large or colorful, and pretty hard to miss on a visit to a river, lake or wetland. But the reality is that the odonates we see flying around are actually near the ends of their lives, on average lasting for only a couple of weeks before succumbing to predation or bad weather. Larger dragonflies such as darners can spend two or three years in their larval state, and by focusing only on the adult insects one is missing out on understanding most of their life cycles and roles in nature.

The following notes and photographs, not to mention the rest of this blog, are the work of a beginner who has taken only the first few steps down the long and never-ending road of learning. If you've had a close encounter with a cool naiad that's new to you and you're looking for a definitive answer as to species you've come to the wrong place, instead, try one of the links to the keys for identifying odonate larva further down this page.

Damselfly naiads are generally smaller than dragonfly larvae and have three external gills at the tips of their longer, slimmer abdomens. This is the larva of a Pond Damselfly, family Coenagrionidae.

The naiads of family Lestidae tend to be larger. Based on the habitat where it was found – a vegetated marsh – this could be a Northern Spreadwing (Lestes disjunctus), Sweetflag Spreadwing (Lestes forcipatus), Slender Spreadwing (Lestes rectangularis) or Amber-winged Spreadwing (Lestes eurinus).

The riparian habitat and very long basal segments of this naiad's antennae indicate family Calopterygidae. There are two possibilities locally – the Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata) and the less commonly encountered River Jewelwing (Calopteryx aequabilis). According to Odonata Larvae of Michigan – Key to the Calopteryx Larvae of Michigan ~ "... tubercles behind eyes prominent and acute ..." ~ looking at the oblique views the spine behind the eye is clearly prominent and acute. This is the aquatic avatar of Calopteryx maculata.

Dragonfly naiads are stouter and more robust than their damselfly cousins, and their gills are internal (in other words, they breathe through their asses). This is a typical dragonfly larva, and based the adults of the species observed at the heavily vegetated lakeshore habitat and the naiad's profile it's a Skimmer, family Libellulidae.

Dozens of exuviae can be found during the summer months at the same lakeshore habitat. It's often advantageous to study exuviae as opposed to larvae since they can be examined and photographed without fear of hurting or killing the insect. Based on their general outlines these are Libellulidae exuviae, probably one of the common larger species such as the Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa), Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina), Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) or Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis).

Celithemis eponina ~ can be ruled out, its eyes taper to conical points.
Pachydiplax longipennis ~ lacks the prominent dorsal spines.
Erythemis simplicicollis ~ "... lateral spines absent ..."
Libellula luctuosa ~ best guess, but most of the information needed for an exact ID is not in the photo. Next year I'll try to keep an eye out for emerging adult dragonflies, and it shouldn't be too difficult to capture the exuviae.

Identification to the species level might be difficult, but dragonfly naiads and exuviae can be narrowed down to as to family based on their general shape. This relatively stout exuviae is another example of family Libellulidae, and according to the Odonata Larvae of Michigan – Meadowhawks it keys out as a Ruby Meadowhawk (Sympetrum rubicundulum).

The best means of being certain as to the identity of an exuviae is to observe the eclosion or emergence of the adult dragonfly. This exuviae was left ehind by a Whitface – Leucorrhinia spp. – probably a Frosted Whiteface (L. frigida) as it's by far the most common of the Leucorrhinia species observed at the marsh where the exuviae was collected.

And about an hour and twenty minutes before it was photographed, this cast-off exoskeleton was worn by a female Four-spotted Skimmer (Libellula quadrimaculata).

Early last month I posted images of some family Cordulegastridae naiads. The shape of the naiads is distinctive and unmistakeable, but I have yet to encounter adults of this species (whichever one it may be!) and without having discovered the naiads would have no idea they were in the area – a great example of why the study of the naiads and exuviae is worthwhile.

And three years ago I uploaded a sequence of photos (taken by Pauline Campbell) of a Dragonhunter making its final molt to adulthood. In this case the profile of the exuviae is not typical of most Gomphidae, the burrowing larvae of Clubtails tend to be somewhat slender rather than broad and leaf-like.

Cruiser naiads are long-legged and spidery in appearance. There are two possibilities in this area – the Swift River Cruiser (Macromia illinoiensis), and the more commonly encountered Stream Cruiser (Didymops transversa). Due to the limits of the camera's macro (Canon PowerShot A530) and lack of experience in knowing what characteristics to photograph and/or observe when in the field I was unable to resolve the identity of the naiad to the species level ~ Aquatic Insects of Michigan – Macromiidae - Cruisers.

However, the experts at BugGuide.Net identified this Cruiser naiad right down to the sub-species level (perhaps based on the length of the lateral spines on S9?). Depending on which book or authority you want to follow, it's a Swift River Cruiser a.k.a. Illinois River Cruiser.

You've got to love that cute little frog-like face ...

After the photo session the naiad was released. The insect's colors are much more vibrant in its natural setting, however, underwater photography introduces greens and blues reflected from the sky and water.

Darner naiads and exuviae have relatively large eyes, and long but robust abdomens. By studying the images of the prementum, labial palps and blades posted at BugGuide.Net, I was able to ID this exuviae as belonging to a Canada Darner (Aeshna canadensis).

There were about a dozen of these dark exuviae clinging to a bridge over the fast moving water of the Moira River. Three of the images below are of an exuviae that belonged to a female – note the ovipositor.

BugGuide.Net to the rescue again ... the cast-off exoskeletons were left behind by Fawn Darners (Boyeria vinosa). I should have figured, both by the general aspect of the exuviae and because I was starting to see adults flying.

Thus endeth this lesson in how little I know ... and there's still a long way to go ...