Urban European Dragon Hunter

Hallo from Stylurus.

I was fortunate to make a business trip to Weilimdorf, Germany at the end of last month. This is basically a suburb of Stuttgart.

Upon arriving on the trans-Atlantic flight I had jetlag and decided the best thing to stay awake would be a walk up to Gruener Heiner (a large hill made of WWII debris with a wind turbine at the top).


While walking to the hill, I found a little man-made pond in front of a home/office furniture store. The photo below is from the top of Gruener Heiner and the store with the pond is located near the left center area of the photo and is the grayish colored building beyond the freshly-cut hayfield.

Initially I didn't think about insects at this pond, but my foggy mind soon realized there were dragonflies buzzing about the edges.

There were 3 or 4 Four-spotted Skimmers (Libellula quadrimaculata), aka Four-spotted Chaser in Europe. These were the only Anisoptera observed here.


I ended up being challenged by the Zygoptera since there were many individuals of various sexes, ages, and species. Here are three of the species:

Large Red Damselfly (British) or Fruhe Adonislibelle (German) - (Pyrrhosoma nymphula)


Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) - a species of forktail


immature female Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)


infuscans form of Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)


Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella). The black u-shaped pattern on S2 is diagnostic for this species.


Up on Gruener Heiner, I did find another species of Zygoptera but they were too wary to allow a photo (or maybe my jetlagged reflexes were too slow?). It was a jewelwing or demoiselle (Calopterex sp., maybe Calopteryx virgo?). I didn't even note fieldmarks since I was then distracted by a singing Blackcap (the warbler, not the fruit).

Hopefully I can take Nannothemis overseas in the future for some ode hunting. Thanks to her for ID'ing the species from home while I was in business meetings the next day.

For now, Auf Wiedersehen.

Texas odes

Nannothemis and I attended the PIF (Partners in Flight) conference in McAllen, TX in mid-February. Of course, we scheduled a couple free days since the lower Rio Grande valley is a great place to search for insects and birds. There are many great locations to explore in the vicinity. During our short trip we visited Santa Ana NWR, Quinta Mazatlan World Birding Center, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, the NABA Butterfly Park, Estero Llano Grande State Park, Old Hidalgo Pumphouse World Birding Center, Laguna Atascosa NWR, and the Sabal Palm Audubon Center.

Dragonfly variety is mid-February is limited, but we did find several species including Citrine Forktail (Ischnura hastata), Common Green Darner (Anax junius), Great Pondhawk (Erythemis vesiculosa), Band-winged Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax umbrata), and Roseate Skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea).

Band-winged Dragonlet, Santa Ana NWR (a more typical place than Michigan!)

Great Pondhawk, Santa Ana NWR

We did even better with butterflies. We found some rarities and some cool-looking species.

Double-dotted Skipper, Sabal Palm

Sickle-winged Skipper, Sabal Palm

It was good to get a little sun and see some bugs again!

Panama Odonata - dry season version

Stylurus and I were in Panama again for 10 days. Here is a little gallery of the species we photographed.

Originally posted 19 January.
Updated with expert input from Dennis Paulson 20 January.
More info on the gomphid on 21 January.
John Abbott weighed in on 22 January.
Another adjustment to the gomphid on 29 January.
4 February: Nick Donnelly offers an opinion on the gomphid.
Another update in May 2021

Additional comments welcome! Captions follow photos.

The two photos above are not the best or of the neatest-looking damselflies, but are probably our most interesting. They are of Anisagrion kennedyi, taken along the Rio Chevo at Finca Hartmann, Palo Verde section, Santa Clara, Panama (12 Jan 2008 by me, top; and 11 Jan 2008 by Stylurus, bottom). According to Dennis, who identified this for us, these are likely the first photos of this species.

Hetaerina cruentata along the Rio Chevo at Finca Hartmann, Palo Verde section, Santa Clara, Panama. 11 Jan 2008.

Camera in right hand, I was able to slowly sneak up on this rubyspot and grab it by the wings with my left hand (proud moment). That enabled me to take a close-up of the distinctive metallic green spot on the thorax that is characteristic of this species.

This rubyspot is Hetaerina miniata. I keyed out the females to reach the identification. Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama.

Flame-tailed Pondhawk, Erythemis peruviana. Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama. 8 Jan 2008.

Cardinal Meadowhawk, Sympetrum illotum. Finca Hartmann Ojo de Agua section, Santa Clara, Chiriqui, Panama. Too much glare off the water behind it. 12 Jan 2008.

Orthemis levis. Pond at Metropolitan Nature Park, Panama City, Panama. 6 Jun 2008.

Pallid Amberwing, Perithemis mooma. Pond at Metropolitan Nature Park, Panama City, Panama. Many female amberwings of most species have highly patterened wings. This one was quite plain. Amberwings stay coupled very briefly. In the thousands of amberwings I've seen, most have been single males. 6 Jan 2008.

Enough of the red and orange theme.

Pin-tailed Pondhawk, Erythemis plebeja. Pipeline Road, Panama. 8 Jan 2008.

Mature female Black Pondhawk, Erythemis attala. Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama. 7 January 2008.

Not-so-mature female Black Pondhawk, Erythemis attala. Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama. 7 Jan 2008.

Mangrove Darner, Coryphaeschna viriditas. Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama. 6 Jan 2008.

You know from my previous trip how much I like helicopter damselflies. We saw only one of the big Megaloprepus caerulatus, but saw quite a few of this species, Mecistogaster linearis, nearly all females. This one was preoccupied eating, and I was able to catch her to photograph her. She resumed her meal when we let her go! Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama. 7 Jan 2008.

Evening Skimmer, Tholymis citrina. A crepuscular species, tough to photograph in the shade. Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama. 7 Jan 2008.


Dennis thinks this is Argia medullaris, common in Costa Rica. He said if he had to name it, he'd call it the "Electric-blue Dancer." My guide to Central American odes did not have this species listed in Panama. Finca Hartmann, Ojo de Agua section, Santa Clara, Panama. 12 Jan 2008.

I thought this might be Spine-tipped Dancer, Argia extranea. Dennis said I was correct, although the taxonomy of this species groups isn't all worked out, so it might be a closely related species. Finca Hartmann, Ojo de Agua, Santa Clara, Panama. 12 Jan 2008.

Protoneura amatoria. Over a deeper pool in the first stream crossing (Juan Grande) on Pipeline Road, Gamboa, 8 Jan 2008.

Red-faced Dragonlet, Erythrodiplax fusca. Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama. 8 Jan 2008.

Striped Firetail, Telebasis filiola. Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama. Face here and huge here. 8 Jan 2008.


Argia indicatrix. Metropolitan Nature Park, Panama City, Panama. 15 Jan 2008.

Brown Setwing, Dythemis sterlis. Split from D. multipunctata. Immature male. Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama. ID's by Dennis Paulson. 8 Jan 2008.

Another dasher, a female Micrathyria laevigata. Another look here, and a male from our last trip here. Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama. 8 Jan 2008.

Rhodopygia cardinalis, based on the basal spot on the hind wing, and wing veination of a fresher individual. Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama. 7 Jan 2008.

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The mystery gomphid.

Cut to the case: Phyllocycla volsella confirmed.
This was really cool, as there are not many tropical gomphids. I flushed this gomphid at the Juan Grande crossing on Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama (first stream, 2 km from gate) on 8 Jan 2008. Stylurus was able to catch it (we ended up catching several more odes by stealth and quick hands), so we got additional photos, including the face and claspers and wing veination.

I originally thought this might be Phyllocycla volsella. However, it is too large for this genus. Dennis Paulson had this to say:

"It's in the Aphylla-Phyllocycla-Phyllogomphoides group, but I'm not even sure of the genus. Gomphids are still the group of anisopterans that are most poorly known throughout much of the tropics, as many species fly only briefly during the rainy season. There are fewer species in the dry season, and they are often in that group."

Nick Donnelly, however, also thought this looked like P. volsella, and his estimate of the size of volsella is a bit bigger than Paulson's. I'm leaning in this direction again.

I found amongst my literature a key to the Odonata of Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal, in Spanish [1]. Here are the gomphids listed for BCI, which is not too far from Pipeline Road.

Epigomphus quadracies. This genus has 2-3 cubito-anal crossveins on the wing. Our individual has only one.

Phyllocycla volsella. The BCI keys notes this as occurring in June and July, but that it is abundant along the Rio Frijoles (which is on the mainland near Pipeline Road) during the first months of winter.

Phyllogomphoides appendiculatus. According to my original key [2], the thoracic pattern of this species would not be as completely and strongly striped, and the inferior appendages should be easily visible in the dorsal view, which they are not. The BCI key says it is yellow and black (not green) and is found in late summer and early winter. It also mentions an undescribed Phyllogomphoides species that comes out in June and July with wide yellowish or greenish stripes on the top of the thorax.

Aphylla obscura. This is an interesting possibility to me, although my original key [2] indicates the flanges on segment 8 should be smaller and the "anterior half of dorsum of abdominal segment 7 not pale, but the same color as the posterior half." It is pale on ours. The thoracic pattern looks good, though. The BCI key [1] notes that this is a large species that emerges in the forest as early as February or March, that the thorax is well marked with black and green, and that the extreme tip of the abdomen is reddish (I also tracked down a description by Fred Sibley that notes this coloration). Ours does have warm tones on the tip of the abdomen, although I'm not so sure I'd say it's reddish. Donnelly agrees our bug is not this species.

Just more food for thought, and an attempt to keep all my info in one place!

This is one I forgot to add to the first post, and it remains unidentified. Plantation Road, near Gamboa, Panama. 7 January 2008.

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These are apparently not identifiable via photos.

Unidentified Argia which is not, as I thought it might be, A. pulla or frequentula. Shot of the claspers and another shot by Stylurus here. Along the Rio Chevo at Finca Hartmann, Palo Verde section, Santa Clara, Panama. 11 Jan 2008.
May 2021: Believe this to be Argia ulmeca.

I'm not sure these are the same species. We saw quite a few females, mostly at the Metropolitan Nature Park in Panama City (first photo 6 Jan 2008). The bottom photo was from Pipeline Road, Gamboa, 7 Jan 2008.
May 2021: Still not sure about top photo, bottom could be A. adamsi.

This is similar to the first unidentified one, but it has more black on the thorax. Metropolitan Nature Park, Panama City, Panama. 15 Jan 2008.

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[1] Lista Preliminar de Nombre y Clave para Identificar los Odonata (Caballitos) de la Isla de Barro Colorado. Michael May, translated by C. L. Castro. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 1979.

[2] The Dragonflies of Central America, exclusive of Mexico and the West Indies. A Guide to their Identification, 2nd Ed. Steffen Forster. Gunnar Rehfeldt, 2001.

First state record: Band-winged Dragonlet

There is something unsettling about doing field work with the sun obviously autumnal -- low in the sky -- fallen leaves underfoot...and sweating in 86F temperatures and high humidity. In spite of the the fact that the calendar page flipped days ago to October, we couldn't pass up heading out to do one last survey at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Humbug Marsh Unit. The USFWS will certainly be getting its money's worth out of this grant.

Last year, we were on the lookout for some rare vagrants that had showed up in Ohio. One of them was Band-winged Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax umbrata), a species most common in the U.S. in Texas and south Florida. Here's the distribution dot map from Donnelly's project [1].

So this species is known to wander, although Ohio seemed quite far-flung. And once again this year, Band-winged Dragonlets were found in Ohio, this time in the northeastern part of the state in Lake and Geauga counties. Band-winged Dragonlets are found in temporary ponds and marshes, and the Ohio subjects were found in shallow scrapes with only a little water.

This thought was in our minds as we entered the Refuge. The front third of the large brownfield portion is undergoing restoration, and had been scraped clean in the spring. Now, it is mostly uneven sandy soil with sparse weedy vegetation. It rained several days ago, and there were perhaps a half dozen depressions with a few inches of water in them.

Stylurus was ahead of me, and passed by the first glorified puddle. As I approached it, I saw a patrolling dragonfly that had black on its wings. I automatically called out "Twelve-spotted Skimmer," as this would be a late fall date for that species. Almost as soon as I said it, I noticed this ode was smaller than a skimmer, had a dark blue body, and not enough "spots." Stylurus was heading back my way. "This could be a dragonlet!" I called out. He got closer and took a look, and agreed. North America's northernmost record of this species!

This wet spot was only a few yards square, but the dragonlet rarely landed. It seemed reluctant to leave, but flew around busily. It perched briefly several times, but would take to the air as soon as we moved. Both of us managed to fire off a few photos -- Stylurus with a point-and-shoot, and me with my good camera, but a macro lens.

Suddenly, another male dragonlet flew to the puddle. They circled each other, and flew to the treetops. It was only moments before one returned. Not wanting to chase it off for good, we quickly explored the other nearby puddles. There was a dragonlet at the closest one. Perhaps 15 minutes passed without us being able to get a good swing at either one. With Stylurus near one puddle, I went back to the first. Both dragonlets appeared, and while they were preoccupied with each other, I was able to scoop both of them up. The first and second Michigan records in one net swing.

We found very little the rest of the day. Some Familiar and Tule bluets, Common Green Darners, Wandering Gliders, a couple of Black Saddlebags, some Eastern Forktails, and a handful of Aeshnas, probably Shadow Darners. Band-winged Dragonlet was the 35th species we have recorded at the Refuge under our survey grant this year. It also represents the fifth state record for the Urban Dragon Hunters, and something like the 45th county record, bringing the Wayne County total to 94 species. It was a fine way to end the field season.

But stay tuned. I'll try to do an annual summary, and we will be doing some traveling in the tropics long before the 2008 Michigan season begins again. More to come!


[1] Donnelly, T. W. 2004. Distribution of North American Odonata Part II: Macromiidae, Corduliidae, and Libellulidae. Bulletin of American Odonatology 8:1-32.

Taking to the water

Part of a grant I received to do baseline odonata survey on USFWS land included larval sampling. It's still a little early in the fall (we discovered) to get a lot of semi-mature (and therefore identifiable to those of us who specialize in adults) larvae. But we decided to spend a glorious autumn day seeing how it would go.

We sampled several areas. One was a portion of the Detroit River. Stylurus is a champ: he waded right in. That's the north end of Humbug Island in the background, and Grosse Ille in the far left background. This is near the southern end of the river. The substrate here is alternately sandy and silty, with the remains of wooden planking installed by a private hunt club decades ago still sunken in the muck in a few places. That's (mostly) duckweed on the river, not algae.

A main objective was to see what is able to breed in an Army Corp of Engineers ditch, created to shunt an old creek, currently nearly entirely underground in a sewer pipe, to the Detroit River. Although mucky and peppered with trash, this little shallow creek has small fish, several kinds of gastropods, freshwater scuds, water boatmen, many aquatic beetles, and some odonate larvae. Aside from a variety of damselfly larvae, we got about a dozen larger specimens of darners and skimmers. Still, not as many or as diverse as we would have hoped. However, this creek is slated for restoration, hence our baseline survey. Here, a friend we enlisted to slog through the mud checks out his haul.

I stayed relatively dry, sorting through the trays of gungus that the men brought me. Note to self: bring a folding table and chair next time. Kneeling on the ground hunched over the trays was bullshit. At least I remembered my reading glasses.

Once finished, we couldn't resist tromping around one of the areas where we typically do transects counting adults. We both saw a nice gomphid -- Arrow Clubtail, Stylurus spiniceps or Elusive Clubtail, S. notatus -- but were unable to net it to confirm its identity. There were a lot of Wandering Gliders (Pantala flavescens), some Common Green Darners, Anax junius and Black Saddlebags, Tramea lacerata, a few Common/Eastern Pondhawks, Erythemis simplicollis, and lots of bluets, mostly Familiar (Enallagma civile) or Tule (E. carunculatum) with a few Orange (E. signatum). And the typical Aeshnas for the date and place: A. umbrosa, Shadow Darner, and A. constricta, Lance-tipped Darner.

The next installment might just be about what we found, once we key out our three dozen or so specimens.