12 October 2013

Unexpected Little Visitor

Last fall we moved into our new place and embarked on documenting the flora and fauna of the property.  With limited water habitats, we thought the species diversity may be low, especially due to the drought of 2012.

On September 4th, Julie was photographing an American Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) in our up-and-coming seeded prairie, when a small damselfly caught her attention.  Surprisingly, it was a Citrine Forktail (Ischnura hastata).  This ode is relatively new to Michigan and there was only one voucher for Washtenaw County from 2012.  We initially found this species in Lenawee County 11 years ago (see UDH paper).  Thus, it was great to also find it on the property.

On September 7th, Julie reminded me to look for the forktail.  Within a minute, a male was found perched on grass:


Here's another closeup:


On September 15th, a male was also observed along the path in our old field: