Consider a donation to Ecdysis

We have made a donation in the name of the Michigan Odonata Survey to Ecdysis, the online database portal for arthropod collections. Ecdysis  is one of the 60+ biodiversity data portals using Symbiota, an open-source software platform. There are over 170 arthropod collections on Ecdysis, including the collection we are associated with at Michigan State University. This collection currently has 350,000 specimen records representing nearly 8100 genera in over 700 families in Ecdysis.

Researchers and members of the public can freely access over 6 million specimen records. Users can search and sort on multiple data fields from any or all collections, create maps from georeferenced records, view available specimen media, and more. Further, Ecdysis provides curators and collection personnel a full suite of collection data management tools, including sending data to aggregators such as GBIF.

All the Symbiota-based portals, including Ecdysis, are maintained by the Symbiota Support Hub (SSH). The SSH creates training documentation and help-desk support, provides software code and security updates, performs data backups and server administration, and other related functions.

Unfortunately, previous funding through the National Science Foundation ended in August 2026. Much of the other grant funding for biodiversity initiatives has also dried up due to the slashing of science programs at the federal level.

The SSH works on infrastructure shared by all the Symbiota portals, but specific portals can be designated; here is the donation form for Ecdysis: https://tinyurl.com/supportecdysis

Donations are tax deductable and go through the University of Kansas endowment, which takes no overhead. 100% of all donations go directly to the SSH via and account with the KU Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum.  

Symbiota has a sustainability plan in place and is working on further initiatives. Donations are part of this, and will help bridge the gap until common sense science funding is (hopefully!) restored, particularly on the federal level. 

We work nearly daily with Ecdysis, and can testify it is a truly valuable resource with excellent features, and well worth our support -- and yours.

Two more Wayne County records (make that 3!)

In 2023, I described that after a long period of no new Wayne County records (due in large part to our moving out of the county), we discovered a nymph of Springtime Darner (Basiaeschna janata) from 1971 in the University of Michigan collection. Later that year, we identified two nymphs of Laura's Clubtail (Stylurus laurae) from 2015 in samples collected by Sue Thompson of the Wayne County Dept. of Public Services. That ticked up the number of confirmed species from Wayne County to 92.

In August 2025, I wrote about 4 new species added to the Wayne County checklist. Three were adults, with vouchers added to the MSU collection: Blue-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum), Black-shouldered Spinyleg (Dromogomphus spinosus), and Swift River Cruiser (Macromia illinoiensis). The fourth, Taiga Bluet (Coenagrion resolutum), was a specimen from 1879 (!) found at the Florida State Collection of Arthropods. These boosted the Wayne County list to 96.You can read all about these additions here.

We have since added two three more species, verified with specimens. 

In late 2025, we found two nymphs of Turquoise Bluet (Enallagma divagans) in watershed sampling collections. The first was from a sample taken from the Lower Rouge River in Westland by Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) in September 2025. EGLE samples all the states major watersheds in 5-year cycles, and Stylurus (Darrin) has been identifying Odonata nymphs in these sample for 4 years now. The other nymph was from the Middle Rouge River in Livonia, another great find in a sample by Sue Thompson, in October 2025. 

Turquiose Bluet was a species listed in our 2013 paper on the Odonata of Wayne County as a suspicious literature record. It had been reported from Livonia by Tokihiro Nishida in his 1999 paper* from late July 1995. Of the 59 adult Michigan specimens in our database, the latest date we have of this typically early-season species is 4 July, so we did not include it in our totals. We've looked for them many times in the county, including along the Rouge. The two nymphs from 2025 are now in the MSU collection, and brought the Wayne County list to 97.

Just recently, on 26 July, Darrin was at Willow Metropark looking for several species in the Huron River. He was able to collect a male Dusky Dancer (Argia translata, below), the 98th species for Wayne County. 

In 2019, we collected the first state record of Dusky Dancer in Washtenaw County, also on the Huron River. This is a sort of enigmatic species -- it seems like it should be found more often, and doesn't appear to have any special habitat affinities, but although we keep an eye out for it, we've only found them in one other county (Monroe). This male voucher will be placed in the MSU collection.

A recent (August 2026) collection of exuviae (shed skins of nymphs left behind when they emerge as adults) from a bridge support over the Huron River at Lower Huron Metropark revealed one from Cobra Clubtail (Gomphurus vastus). We had photographed Cobra Clubtail at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge in 2008, so it was nice to get this off the hypothetical list.

All vouchers are or will be depositied in the MSU collection. 

The Wayne County list is now at 99 species.

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*Nishida, T. 1999. The Odonata collected in the United States of America, mainly in theState of Michigan. Aeschna 36:1–20. 

Newly described flies...from our yard

In addition to dragonflies and damselflies, our other entomological interests have leaned toward Hymenoptera (bees and wasps, although not ants), flies, and moths. We've recorded over 750 species of moths on our property, and a fair number are leaf-mining moths. The interest in leaf-mining moths dates back to a paper I wrote in 2017, Native Birds Exploit Leaf-Mining Moth Larvae Using a New North American Host, Non-Native Lonicera maackii. 

After that interesting discovery, we began paying more attention to leaf mines. Not all mines are created by moths -- many are also flies, beetles, and sawflies. Identification requires a knowledge of plants -- since the insects are closely tied to particular host families -- and the help of Charley Eiseman and his monumental work, Leafminers of North America. 

We began rearing insects from mines we found on our Washtenaw County property. It was not uncommon to be unsuccessful in this endeavor: mines may have already been vacated; the larvae are parasitized by many species of wasps, so often only wasps emerged; we could be thwarted if only females emerged and identification relied on examination of male genitalia; or the larvae or pupae simply did not survive overwinter despite our efforts to maintain proper conditions (including a "beer fridge" theoretically dedicated to them). But we always took photos of the mines and notes on the host plants, mine architecture, frass patterns, phenology, etc. If we were successful, we would send the more interesting specimens to Charley. In addition to his own knowledge, he works with a network of scientists to identify these insects. 

Charley's most recent paper was published earlier this month:

EISEMAN, C. S., LONSDALE, O., FELDMAN, T. S., & VAN DER LINDEN, J.  2026. Thirty-three new species of Agromyzidae (Diptera) from the United States and Canada, with new host and distribution records for 154 additional species. Zootaxa 5745(1): 1-265. 

As the title indicates, it is exclusively about leaf-mining flies, discussing new rearing records and hosts, and describes some new species. We were excited to find that our specimens or rearing information were included in 5 of these accounts. The most interesting were two newly described species and one first North American record. These are summarized below, along with a few photos of the mines (the flies themselves are small, and rather non-descript).

NEW SPECIES: Phytomyza cicutiphaga Eiseman & Lonsdale sp.nov.

Leaf mines of paratypes of Phytomyza cicutiphaga
on water hemlock, Lodi Twp., Washtenaw Co., MI

This species is described from specimens collected in 1975-1976 from mines in Western Water Hemlock (Cicuta douglasii) in Alberta, Canada and specimens we reared from our property in 2019 from Eastern Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata). 

There are no other specimens or localities listed in the paper, and our specimens are among the paratypes. 

The authors note that there are photographs of mines similar to that of P. cicutiphaga (which are different from the mines of the other water hemlock miner, P. cicutella) from several northern states and provinces, but state that examination of adult genitalia is required for positive identification.

Our specimens (n=6) are in the Canadian National Collection. 

NEW SPECIES: Liriomyza lobeliae Eiseman & Lonsdale sp.nov.

Leaf mines of Liriomyza lobeliae on 
Cardinalflower, Lodi Twp., Washtenaw
Co., MI

We have been finding mines on Lobelia leaves in our yard since 2019 on Cardinalflower (L. cardinalis), Great Blue Lobelia (L. siphilitica), and Indian Tobacco (L. inflata). We could see that the larvae in the mines were flies, but despite many attempts, we were unable to rear them to maturity. We did get some parasitic flies, photos, and notes.

Eiseman and Lonsdale described this new species from 6 specimens from L. cardinalis from the Chicago Botanic Garden. In addition to the photographs of mines from our yard (the only records from Michigan), other photographed mines included in the species description were from Minnesota, Ohio, Ontario, and North Carolina. The authors concluded that although all the Lobelia species are common in New England, for example, no mines have been reported in that region, leading them to believe this fly may have a limited distribution. We'll be trying to rear these again in 2026 so that additional specimens are available for study.

NEW FOR NORTH AMERICA: Phytomyza spinaciae Hendel

Pupa of Phytomyza spinaciae on the underside of 
a leaf of Cirsium discolor (the mine is on the
upperside of the leaf). Photos of mines alone
can't be assumed to belong to this fly without
evidence of this type of pupa. Lodi Twp., Washtenaw
Co., MI

Since 2017 we have found leaf mines in various thistle species, including native Swamp Thistle (C. muticum) and Pasture Thistle (C. discolor), as well as non-native Canada Thistle (C. arvense) and Bull Thistle (C. vulgare). I've reared flies from thistles from both the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus in Wayne County and from our property in Washtenaw County. 

Our 10 specimens, along with quite a few others from Michigan and other states, represent the first confirmed North America records for this European fly. The first reports of mines were from Wisconsin in 2014. In addition to thistles, these flies also use knapweeds (Centaurea) as hosts in North America, but might also use burdocks (Arctium), Carduus, or related species, so we're keeping our eyes peeled to obtain new host records.

Our specimens are in the Canadian National Collection. 

We can't emphasize enough how generous and helpful Charley and his work have been over the years. Every time we think we just don't have the bandwidth to pay attention to or try to rear more leafminers, Charley provides incentive and inspiration. We encourage you to visit his blog and Patreon page to get your own dose of motivation.