Dragonfly hotspots in USA (1 Viewer)

[Lerxst]

Hello odonatists:

I have begun to develop greater interest in these lovely creatures over the past few months, and I am eager to learn more about finding a wide variety of species in the field. Can anyone suggest prime locations in the USA (or Canada) that consistently offer good numbers and species diversity? When it comes to birds, I have no trouble finding such information, but as yet I've not come across any recommendations for sites that would qualify as 'hotspots' for dragonflies. Being in Minnesota, my natural inclination is to think that a trip to south Florida should come first. Flipping through my eastern dragonflies field guide suggests as much. But I'd like to know of any other meccas that I should start planning for.

Thanks

 

[Lerxst]

I finally found an article which lists a number of NWRs specifically noted for dragons.

Dragonfly Watching on Wildlife Refuges | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

They’re not dragons, and they’re not flies. But the stunt pilots of the insect world are attention-getters. They wear flashy colors, race at up to 30 miles per hour, boast ancestors that predate dinosaurs, mate in midair. Aggressive predators, they’re out for blood – but not yours. What’s not to...

www.fws.gov

"
Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico. More than 60 dragonfly species have been spotted on the refuge, including the rare Bleached Skimmer. Stop by the visitor center to see the collection of dragonflies there. Peak dragonfly viewing is in July and August.

Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge, Indiana. Refuge wetlands host 30 species of dragonflies and 13 species of damselflies, including some rare kinds. A printout available at the refuge office lists them. The Halloween Pennant dragonfly, named for its orange and black wings, can be found at almost any refuge oxbow or wetland from mid-June through early October.

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas. Dragonfly species you may see include Red Saddlebags and Wandering Gliders.

The four refuges that make up Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex — Ash Meadows, Desert, Moapa Valley and Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuges — have a good mix of species, including the tiny Black-fronted Forktail and the Giant Darner."

 

[jmepler]

Good luck with your new interest, odanata study is a real rabbit hole. Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East from Princeton Field Guides is 538 pages, and Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West is 536 pages. I found that taking pictures with my bridge camera allowed me to later study the minute details necessary to identify certain species.

 

[Lerxst]

Good luck with your new interest, odanata study is a real rabbit hole. Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East from Princeton Field Guides is 538 pages, and Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West is 536 pages. I found that taking pictures with my bridge camera allowed me to later study the minute details necessary to identify certain species.

Thanks for the reply. I'm halfway down that rabbit hole already. I'm doing the same thing, using a Nikon P1000 CoolPix as my study tool. Maybe next year I'll think about netting but I'd rather just get natural photos.

On the topic of hotspots, I was surprised that Googling "dragonfly hotspots" yielded a ton of results... for the UK. Almost zilch for N. America. I'd have expected the opposite.

 

[Xenospiza]

On the topic of hotspots, I was surprised that Googling "dragonfly hotspots" yielded a ton of results... for the UK. Almost zilch for N. America. I'd have expected the opposite.

Considering that the dragonfly fauna of the UK is quite poor makes it even stranger!

 

[jmepler]

Thanks for the reply. I'm halfway down that rabbit hole already. I'm doing the same thing, using a Nikon P1000 CoolPix as my study tool. Maybe next year I'll think about netting but I'd rather just get natural photos.

On the topic of hotspots, I was surprised that Googling "dragonfly hotspots" yielded a ton of results... for the UK. Almost zilch for N. America. I'd have expected the opposite.

I have the P950. I would think that the P1000 would be excellent for getting good pictures without disturbing your subject. Since I don't know all the little field marks to look for in similar species, I found that a few good photos were a huge help for me to make a positive identification. It was actually when I bought my first bridge camera, and I photographed a bunch of dragonflies, that I got interested in odonata identification.

 

[Swindon Addick]

On the topic of hotspots, I was surprised that Googling "dragonfly hotspots" yielded a ton of results... for the UK. Almost zilch for N. America. I'd have expected the opposite.

That's because "hotspots" is the name the British Dragonfly Society gives to the sites it designates as special for dragonflies, so the term gets used a lot. The BDS doesn't really have "reserves" in the way the RSPB or Plantlife do, so they came up with a name designed to make landowners proud of the dragonflies they have without setting them worrying that they're going to be asked to restrict what they do when they manage the site.

Also we probably have more dragonfly-watchers than some other countries do - summer is a relatively quiet season for birding here and the small number of species with no species-pairs that are impossible to distinguish from photos makes dragonflies a relatively easy sideline to get into.

 

[Jim M.]

Can anyone suggest prime locations in the USA (or Canada) that consistently offer good numbers and species diversity? When it comes to birds, I have no trouble finding such information, but as yet I've not come across any recommendations for sites that would qualify as 'hotspots' for dragonflies. Being in Minnesota, my natural inclination is to think that a trip to south Florida should come first. Flipping through my eastern dragonflies field guide suggests as much. But I'd like to know of any other meccas that I should start planning for.

Found a map of number of odonate species by state, at least as of the early 2000s: https://www.researchgate.net/figure...numerals-according-to-Donnelly_fig2_230265840 It is a little hard to read, (hard to distinguish 6 from 8!), but looks like the top 5 are as follows: Texas (220), New York (188), Virginia (186), Vermont (181), and Alabama (175). And Vermont certainly stands out for its number of species per square mile! Your neighboring state of Wisconsin (160) has almost as many as Florida (168).

My experience is that odonate hotspots, with high numbers of uncommon species, will have a great diversity of aquatic habitats – a variety of forested rivers and streams of different sizes, as well as bog habitats, and water quality will be high. Still ponds and lakes with mediocre water quality may have lots of odonates, but they will tend to be of the more common varieties. I've heard of people traveling to Maine and New Hampshire specifically to find odonates. INaturalist may help with locations of specific species – though annoyingly many people obscure locations for their observations. Odonata Central is another good source for location information.

In any event, I think of odonate species as being even more restricted to specific micro-habitats, and seasons, than birds. So it is more about visiting a variety of different places at different times of year than finding centers of mega-diversity. Also, be aware there are some species (e.g. emeralds and some darners) that will be very difficult to see/identify without netting them.

Hope this helps

 

[Lerxst]

^ Thank you Jim M. Indeed this does help! Nice to know about Wisconsin. I'm surprised by that.

Also, I have pre-ordered Dragonflies of North America (Princeton Field Guides) by Ed Lam, and should get it mid-October. It has paintings, not photos, so I'm excited. If you use the "read sample" feature on Amazon for this text, you'll see that the plates look great and are quite detailed.

 

[Muppit17]

Coming to this thread late, and having chased odonata on both sides of the pond, the US has some great places for both numbers and diversity. I was staggered by the numbers of individuals in North Carolina, and the diversity was pretty good as well. I 'only' sampled the area from the Outer Banks and the river systems just inland and it was a great location. If you added in the mountains the state has a great list.

I haven't used the Lamm guide so can't comment. I understand that is doesnt cover the damselflies so a bit of an issue for me if this is the case. There are some good on line resources and I have used those in the past and again this year up in Maine/New Hampshire

 

[Lerxst]

Coming to this thread late, and having chased odonata on both sides of the pond, the US has some great places for both numbers and diversity. I was staggered by the numbers of individuals in North Carolina, and the diversity was pretty good as well. I 'only' sampled the area from the Outer Banks and the river systems just inland and it was a great location. If you added in the mountains the state has a great list.

I haven't used the Lamm guide so can't comment. I understand that is doesnt cover the damselflies so a bit of an issue for me if this is the case. There are some good on line resources and I have used those in the past and again this year up in Maine/New Hampshire

Thank you for your input. I have only been to that state once but have wanted to return and now have more reason.

I now have the brand new Lam guide to dragonflies in hand, and I must say I really love it. The illustrations are LARGE and the detail is immaculate. I also regret that there are no damsels in here, but as an addition to my growing library of references on these lovely insects, it is going to get a lot of use. It is by far the most "bird guide-like" book on dragons that I have seen.