Follow Up On Field Trip

The dragonfly field trip on Saturday was a delightful success.  Great weather, and a wonderful group of dragonfly enthusiasts to share the experience.  Thanks to all of you for taking the time to join us on one of our odonate explorations.  Your enthusiasm and insightful questions make the field trips a memorable experience for us.

The dragonflies were very cooperative, as you might expect on such a sunny, warm day.  We saw most of the "usual suspects," and one surprise species as well.  Here's our species list:

Damselflies
Spotted Spreadwing
Tule Bluet
Northern/Boreal Bluet
Pacific Forktail

Dragonflies
Paddle-tailed Darner (the Happy-face Darner)
Blue-eyed Darner
Four-spotted Skimmer
Eight-spotted Skimmer
Cardinal Meadowhawk
Red-veined Meadowhawk
Striped Meadowhawk
Western Pondhawk (our surprise species)

Here are some photos of the species mentioned above:

Clockwise from upper left:  Spotted Spreadwing (staircase pattern on side of thorax), Tule Bluet (dash-dash-dash-dash), Northern/Boreal Bluet (dash-dot-dash-dot), Pacific Forktail (no blue until the tip of the tail).

Clockwise from upper left:  Paddle-tailed Darner (Mr. Happy-face), Blue-eyed Darner, Four-spotted Skimmer, Eight-spotted Skimmer.

Clockwise from upper left:  Cardinal Meadowhawk (opaque red at base of wings), Red-veined Meadowhawk (Anacortes specialty), Striped Meadowhawk, Western Pondhawk (our only green dragonfly).

Thanks again for joining us.  We look forward to our next trip.