Odes to Joy

Recently I have been spending as much time as I can outside (and when I am inside, I am spending all my free time on iNaturalist...give it a try!) I have enjoyed studying a few dragonflies and damselflies (odonata aka odes) in my neighborhood. 

Unicorn Clubtail

Marsh Bluet

Eastern Forktail

Orange Bluet

Eastern Pondhawk (female)

Familiar Bluet

Widow Skimmer

Common Green Darner

Slender Spreadwing (male)

Fragile Forktail

Blue Dasher

Eastern Pondhawk (male)

Sedge Sprite

Autumn Meadowhawk

Slender Spreadwing (female)

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

A Couple of Dragonflies

Another "catch up" post...

Besides birds, dragonflies are another really big interest of mine. I caught these two on May 27th, which was probably my first "good" dragonfly day of the year.

Common Green Darners are common spring to fall residents in London. This was actually my first time ever being able to catch this species. It certainly did not make for easy extraction from the net!

The second one is a Beaverpond Baskettail, which I believe is very unusual in this area of Ontario. On iNaturalist this is actually a first county record, and the most southern record in Ontario. iNaturalist, like eBird, is not the be all end all, so I'd be interested to know what other records there are of this species in the area!

In the Hand: Dot-tailed Whiteface

This is the Dot-tailed Whiteface. It is a relatively common dragonfly if you are in the right place at the right time. Both sexes can be identified by their white "face" and a single yellow dot near the end of their tail. Males (pictured below) of this species tend to be darker.

In the Hand: Eastern Forktail

Eastern Forktails are one of the most common damselfly species. Females, like this one, come in many different colour morphs. Males have a bright green abdomen and a black tail until S8 and S9 (the very end of the tail), which is a bright blue.

 

In the Hand: Common Ringlet

 I think I'm going to make a mini-series out of "In the Hand"

Here is a Common Ringlet. It can be identified by it's dull brownish-grey colour with some orange highlights. The upperside, which is really only seen when the butterfly is flying or when it is captured, is a nice orange. As the name suggests, there is usually a small dark ring on the forewing. This is a common butterfly of open areas.

In the Hand: Common Whitetail

I was trying out my new insect net down at the local pond today. The only dragonfly that I saw was a female Common Whitetail. To catch her I didn't even need my net! She was sitting nice and still, probably due to the recent rain.