Hunters of the Lakeshore Skies

There was no choice but to take the following two pictures while this dragonfly was on the wing, because, much like the large darners, these guys fly and fly and fly ... This one seemed to prefer patrolling back and forth along the margin of the lake, staying a couple of feet above the water where there were no emergent plants. I expect to get a better photo in the near future as these dragonflies are very curious, stopping to hover in one place for a few seconds while looking me over (maybe wondering if I'm edible?)

The colors and shape of the wings are clear enough to identify this as a Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens), having the reputation of being the most widely distributed dragonfly in the world. As their name suggests Wandering gliders are migratory and I don't see them every year.

Rather than staying on the wing for long periods like darners, dragonflies such as the skimmers below usually prefer to sit on a favourite perch, darting out to snatch smaller insects that happen to fly past.

Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta), male

Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella), male

Left: Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa), male
Right: Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis), female

Widow Skimmers are gregarious and tame. They don't startle easily, making them good subjects for beginners to photograph. This female Widow Skimmer didn't mind posing for a mug shot.

An Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) eating dinner. I've found that dragonflies seem to pay less attention to their surroundings when they are busy chowing down, and this is a good time to sneak up on them for a close shot. This is a young male, some green is still visible on his thorax. As he ages the pale blue pruinosity typical of the adult males will cover his entire body.

An even younger male, he's only developed a bloom on his abdomen.

Damselflies and dragonflies belong to the order Odonata, which means "toothed jaws". This female Tule Bluet (Enallagma carunculatum) is eating what appears to be a small whirligig beetle. The beetle's hard exterior wings aren't much defense against the damselfly's natural cutlery.

A female Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta) consuming its prey.

When dragonflies aren't hunting and eating they're busy starting the next generation. The following two photos are mating pairs of Halloween Pennants (Celithemis eponina) in the wheel position. Much like their table manners, there's no civility or consideration when it comes to dragonfly love ... the female's eyes and head may end up getting gouged and punctured by the male's claspers. While this may seem terrible from our human perspective, evolution is all about whatever works to perpetuate the species and according to the fossil record dragonflies have been around for a few hundred million years.

Mating White-faced Meadowhawks (Sympetrum obtrusum)

As often as not, the hunter becomes the hunted; this is a Robber Fly having a bluet for lunch. Robber flies are in turn pursued by the damselflies larger odonate cousins. Robber flies and dragonflies lead similar lives and exploit related niches in the ecosystem. Although a true fly possessing only one pair of wings, note how the robber fly's appearance ... the large compound eyes, hairy basket-like legs, and long wings and abdomen ... tends resemble that of a dragonfly. Now that's evolution in action.

A Few Photos of some Common Damselflies

Most of the damselflies and dragonflies in this blog were identified with the help of the Field Guide to The Dragonflies and Damselflies of Algonquin Provincial Park and the Surrounding Area. This book is a must have reference for the serious naturalist. It covers the Odonata apt to be found in southern Ontario and the illustrations and species accounts are excellent.

The first group of pictures are Pond Damselflies, family (Coenagrionidae).

Violet Dancer (Argia fumipennis violacea), males and female. It's impossible to mistake the males for any other local species.

Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta), male

Stream Bluet (Enallagma exsulans), male, and a mating pair

Skimming Bluet (Enallagma geminatum), males and females

A couple of shots of a male Tule Bluet (Enallagma carunculatum) ...

... and a female Tule Bluet

Tule Bluets mating, in the second photo the pair are just disengaging from the "wheel" or "heart" position.

... and a male Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile)

The ubiquitous Eastern Forktail (Ischnura verticalis) ... male, immature female, mature female and a mating pair

Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita), male

A male Slender Spreadwing (Lestes rectangularis); the long, thin abdomen and lack of pruinosity on the last segments are diagnostic. This damselfly is a member of the family Lestidae, the Spread-wing damselflies, which typically hold their wings at about 45° to their body rather than folded together in the manner of pond damsels.

Without a clear photo or study of the male's claspers I stuck my neck out and originally misidentified the following specimen as a Northern Spreadwing (Lestes disjunctus).

The male above is an older specimen with a considerable amount of pruinosity hiding any identifying marks. Moreover, the final arbiter of damselfly species are the male's claspers or female's mesostigmal plates and/or the structure of the ovipositor. It seemed like a good idea to go back and take a closer look. The photo below is another male spreadwing (yes, I'm assuming the same species as above on the basis of appearance but I think it's reasonable to do so). Closeups of this damselfly's claspers are depicted in the succeeding two images. Note how the bottom claspers are very thin; this suggests a Swamp Spreadwing (Lestes vigilax), as per the Field Guide to The Dragonflies and Damselflies of Algonquin Provincial Park and the Surrounding Area. And if I zoom in on the upper claspers, the teeth match the drawings shown in the book for this species.

It seemed like an even better idea to follow correct scientific procedure, capture a specimen, and examine the claspers in more detail in the field. I think the damselfly below is young Swamp Spreadwing male: the colors on the thorax and abdomen are visible and match those in the color drawing in the field guide. More importantly, note the claspers ... I took closeups from several different angles. The upper and lower claspers are the same as on the spreadwings in the images above and as depicted in the book. So despite the fact that the two damselflies look quite different, I can only conclude they are the same species.

The next three photos depict a female (note the ovipositor) Spotted Spreadwing (Lestes congener). This time it's safer to go by general appearances, this is the only spreadwing species with two spots on the side of the thorax.

Three views of a male Spotted Spreadwing (Lestes congener). This damselfly had a few preferred perches on the shoreline grasses and despite its relatively small size (about 35 mm) it was surprisingly aggressive with regard to defending its turf. It took on all comers, not only damselflies of other species larger than itself but even intercepting and chasing a White-faced Meadowhawk that had the temerity to approach too closely.

Dorsal and ventral views of the Spotted Spreadwing's claspers.