In Water

“We are slow to realize water, —the beauty and magic of it. It is interestingly strange to us forever.” Henry David Thoreau, Journals, May 8 1854

“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” Loren Eiseley, The Immense Journey

Boyd Sartell WMA. A large natural area in southwestern Rice County. This WMA has, in previous years, supported populations of Taiga Bluets and Silvery Blues. And both damselfly and butterfly have been on the wing at the same time, usually about this time of year, both in and around the series of manmade ponds.

For the past several springs I’ve attempted to collect Taiga Bluet nymphs, each time without success. Last year, in North Dakota, I did finally locate several Taiga Bluet nymphs (of course this was while I was attempting to locate Prairie Bluet nymphs!). Like other Eurasian Bluets (genus Coenagrion) nymphs, the head of the Taiga Bluet nymph is speckled behind the eyes with tiny black dots. This makes it easy to separate them from the hordes of American Bluet (genus Enallagma), Forktail (genus Ischnura), and Sedge Sprite (genus Nehalennia) nymphs present.

Now that I knew how to identify the Taiga Bluet nymphs, I thought I’d try again to locate them at this site, searching the shallows at various points around the ponds with a dip net. No such luck.

Just like Thoreau’s pronouncement on water, the most common water inhabitants, such as the nymphs of Sedge Sprites (which turned up in spades this day) and the trilobite-esque Isopods, will remain “interestingly strange.”

Having a goal in mind can be an obstacle, can diminish the appreciation of other accomplishments, for example, the Two-lined Swamp Fly and the floating flight of Phantom Crane Flies, both observed near the ponds.

Posted on 09 de maio de 2017, 02:53 AM by scottking scottking

Observações

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Maio 8, 2017 02:07 PM CDT

Descrição

name
Boyd Sartell WMA
Shieldsville, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Maio 8, 2017 01:52 PM CDT

Descrição

Sedge Sprite, nymph
Boyd Sartell WMA
Shieldsville, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Maio 8, 2017 01:47 PM CDT

Descrição

name
Boyd Sartell WMA
Shieldsville, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Maio 8, 2017 01:41 PM CDT

Descrição

Isopod
Boyd Sartell WMA
Shieldsville, Minnesota

Etiquetas

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Maio 8, 2017 01:19 PM CDT

Descrição

Skimmer, nymph
Boyd Sartell WMA
Shieldsville, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Maio 8, 2017 01:14 PM CDT

Descrição

Darner, nymph
Boyd Sartell WMA
Shieldsville, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Maio 8, 2017 10:25 AM CDT

Descrição

Phantom Crane Fly
Boyd Sartell WMA
Shieldsville, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Maio 8, 2017 09:36 AM CDT

Descrição

Double-lined Swamp Fly, male
Boyd Sartell WMA
Shieldsville, Minnesota

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