Archilestes Grandis : New Early Date for Michigan

On Tuesday, August 26th, I stopped by the Great Spreadwing (A. grandis) location in Wayne County.  

I was worried that the upstream construction at 7-Mile & Haggerty Road may wipe out the population of Archilestes grandis due to silt, etc.   I was pleased to find 4 females (3 tenerals) and 3 males (1 teneral) for a new early date in Michigan.

 We'll see if the development's future use of landscape chemicals and runoff impact the population.  I hope they're not impacted since it's great to be able to observe such a large damselfly in the area.

Ophio Odyssey - day 2, stop 2

2nd stop = Gathering of Exuviae at the Canoe Launch

Carney Dam along the Brule River

Finding this location isn't necessarily easy since the roads aren't square and aren't necessarily marked in the Gazetteer. However, the fields in the area contained Clay-colored Sparrows, Bobolinks, and Brewer's Blackbirds.

Upon arriving there is a small, cleared area to launch canoes (45.98066, -88.39839).  Much of the river bank isn't accessible by foot. 

The logs along the shoreline had several exuviae attached to them.

These included 9 Ophiogomphus (rupinsulensis or carolus).

Not a bad collection for a rainy morning.