The Quest to...Ten

Of the dragonflies, the ones that I find the most fascinating, for some reason, are those of the genus Sympetrum, commonly known as the meadowhawks.

Meadowhawks have a reputation of being impossible to identify, and in most cases that is just not true. The only trouble comes with the Ruby, Cherry-faced, and White-faced (Sympetrum rubicundulum/internum/obtrusum) complex. Even so, in mature males, really only Ruby and Cherry-faced cause any problems.

Ontario has had ten species of meadowhawks, eight of which are regular, and two of which are very rare vagrants. 

1. Saffron-winged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum costiferum) 
2. Cherry-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum internum) 
3. White-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum) 
4. Ruby Meadowhawk (Sympetrum rubicundulum) 
5. Band-winged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum semicinctum) 
6. Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) 
7. Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) 
8. Black Meadowhawk (Sympetrum danae) 
9. Blue-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum) ***VERY RARE 
10. Red-veined Meadowhawk (Sympetrum madidum) ***VERY RARE

Of the regularly occuring eight, I'd say six are fairly easy to find.

At the time of writing, I have seen six out of the ten species:

1. Saffron-winged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum costiferum) 
2. Cherry-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum internum) 
3. White-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum) 
4. Ruby Meadowhawk (Sympetrum rubicundulum) 
5. Band-winged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum semicinctum) 
6. Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) 

With any luck, by the time you are reading this I will have seen a seventh, Black Meadowhawk (Sympetrum danae), which regularly occurs on on the coast of James Bay, and ranges throughout much of central and northern Ontario.

Assuming I get lucky with those Blacks, I will be left with three species to complete my Ontario Sympetrum list.

1. Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) 
2. Blue-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum) 
3. Red-veined Meadowhawk (Sympetrum madidum) 

Variegated is regular but uncommon in Ontario. From my research, it seems that the "peak" is in the spring, however there are records each year from the fall. Literature suggests that these fall records may be migrants from the west, where they are much more common. With enough looking, I am bound to one day stumble across one.

As for the other two, Blue-faced and Red-veined, I will have to work much, much, much, MUCH harder. From my research, there are only a couple records of each from the province. I believe they do occur much more regularly, however go undetected due to lack of observers.

Blue-faced is likely to occur in the Windsor/Essex/Pelee region, and I'd imagine that with the right conditions, an individual or two are likely to wander from the population just on the other side of the border.

Red-veined is a dragon of the west, ranging into Manitoba fairly close to the Ontario border. I would think they could occur in Ontario, possibly as a breeder, but they just go undetected due to the remoteness. Places to check could include Rainy River and Kenora Districts.

I am looking forward to the challenge of finding these dragonflies. I am sure I will see lots of cool things along the way!

Band-winged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum semicinctum)

***This is a scheduled post, so if you are reading this within a couple weeks of when it was posted, I am currently on the coast of James Bay trying not to get eaten by a bear :-)