In 2008, I found a
female Smoky Rubyspot (
Hetaerina titia) at Humbug Marsh. That was a new species for Wayne County, Michigan, and we had wondered where a population occurred in the area. Then, on September 18, 2009, Burt Cebulski posted to the
Great Lakes Odonata listserv that many individuals had been found along the Raisin River. Thus, I decided to check locations in Monroe and Wayne Counties on September 19th along the Huron River.
First stop was the park along the Huron River at I-75 in Monroe County. This location gives good access to the river upstream from the I-75 bridge. It is essentially a location for fishing, but has debris dumped in the river and litter along the banks and in the bushes (not an attractive location). Within minutes I spotted a dark, male rubyspot (
Hetaerina species) perched on the rim of a half-submerged barrel. Unfortunately, it was too far from shore to net. Checking other possible perches turned up additional individuals perching on a downed tree over the water. The near shore area was shaded, so I shimmied out on the trunk to get closer and with some patience, I netted a couple of male Smoky Rubyspots (
H. titia).
Here's a photo of one while looking at the downed tree:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5byf5pMkahCodPHFe1JhSguM60OasEZROJc86LN85x_77Q6TJKKuZRM-dPhxpHeQdk7OmL_TOLyvtgPjynHOSzbUOGyP4_oVT34SuUeVA65FvtilYpqaeydrURcNOiEe117M1BA/s400/3936780437_e98035ea15.jpg)
Here's a photo looking upstream. That is Wayne County at the far shore. I was able to observe this species on both sides of the river:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmc4YoEae4cvedfRfdAi9LtjlOrM_f59NkvQkrwgzEBIMna2gnjpuBFu8ABLVdcwArbGbyfS61-iN8L-jWROSJqDBvzLn8R6R_Rwxe31qkv4ZIYUwZRZPfZQUkXOo6GtNIX9VDXw/s400/3936780285_53ae7eedb5.jpg)
...and a close-up showing the overall darkness of the species:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxkm6Hk9lVTp7Ow3RmxsDU1tUIUW-sBGRlWLltZNYh9dBfqNoJSSBUFJ2zmFm_kMpcnM9ISclRiGE8D3C62x3x9twEzN3Hloz6ng6XQ_vs2-yP5E66K-eRRLurtaP_9oPXRE_wag/s400/3936779763_939df88b9e.jpg)
...and a close-up in the sun:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihq8Wx5wuzj4kQu3cZGF4I1ggPOQhckLAiq_UWO9yNEQICPN12HwIeiKoh8-xdkiXz6G0-b1q679SuuMOlUd7C6aAeISt7lL-m1jlVQiibW5t2RJ9pvN9pLTc-d2XBitqrdFQSw/s400/3936780533_3078daa517.jpg)
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to capture any females for examination. In total, there were 6+ males and 2+ females of
H. titia. I did not find any American Rubyspots (
H. americana) at this location.
I tried another spot downstream of the I-75 bridge on the Wayne County side of the river. This was only a few hundred meters from the first location, but was sunnier. Here I found only American Rubyspots (
H. americana). Following are photos of a male
H. americana for comparison:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lLJFGzHK0WcMW_rTt8v_7GgYyYWJe0o1m-OKzaEgCPTZzwauxRYKvdppFXaf9LHlkujAzOpNWCBZbRI9bsZyBu3rZCF-1GRRyibi3Kh94IZ20W0C73RUjesdaTVHhtFzfXVZYg/s400/3936780629_52322a9fde.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKvLxfXIO-67OjhgzHnz0YVzKGDEXr9RElR9YRzBxHjpFMGFkU_W4nnDANG9coi3m2NRWhoZi6d623mNghQ7RxkORTyC9Wynz1hRVlRB_TgZbiS2B3mtFI2tTK3DFQj73ubxctw/s400/3937560114_015589a09c.jpg)
After this successful location, I headed much farther upstream to
Lower Huron Metropark in Wayne County. However, I had no luck finding rubyspots.
Next year, I'll have to check additional locations along the Detroit River for
H. titia in mid-September.