Red October

Recently I'd been lamenting how little time I've spent with the red dragonflies this year. Easily the least amount of time in the field with the Sympetrum dragonflies in ten years. In fact it seemed likely that I'd not see three of Minnesota's nine species: no Red-veined Meadowhawks, no Black Meadowhawks, no Saffron-winged Meadowhawks. And I nearly missed Variegated Meadowhawks as well, seeing no spring migrants, but two late season vagrants. However, today's outing to Lake Byllesby County Park near Cannon Falls helped to relieve these red dragonfly blues.

Each year this series of spring-fed ponds produces a stupendous number of Band-winged Meadowhawks. Visiting the site earlier this year and finding it completely dry, I had worried that the streak would come to an end, that this source population would disappear. By the time I'd crossed the green space between the parking lot and the trail head, a dozen or so Band-winged Meadowhawks had flown in front of me. The purpose of the visit today was to check on these dragonflies. They made it through the dry months just fine. The population was as strong as ever.

In addition to the multitudes of Band-winged Meadowhawks, there were a few White-faced Meadowhawks (how unusual for this species to be in the minority), a number of Autumn Meadowhawks, and dozens of Saffron-winged Meadowhawks. It was my first encounter with Saffron-winged Meadowhawks this year.

Saffron-winged Meadowhawks have the most distinct waist of all North American meadowhawks. As such they are a good example of what British entomologist Edward Newman had in mind when he coined the genus name “Sympetrum” in 1833. A footnote to the original description explains the origin of the word to be constructed of συμπιέζω and ητρον, the Greek verb for compress and the word for abdomen, referencing the narrowness of the abdomen sections 4 and 5. Unfortunately, this name gets mistranslated and misinterpreted because it would seem (if one didn't reference the original description) to be a construction of sym and petra, friend of stones.

Posted on 05 de outubro de 2017, 04:10 AM by scottking scottking

Observações

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 01:07 PM CDT

Descrição

Buck Moth
McKnight Prairie
Randolph, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 01:29 PM CDT

Descrição

Hover Fly
McKnight Prairie
Randolph, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 01:25 PM CDT

Descrição

Robber Fly
McKnight Prairie
Randolph, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 01:17 PM CDT

Descrição

American Copper
McKnight Prairie
Randolph, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 12:14 PM CDT

Descrição

Biennial Gaura
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 11:41 AM CDT

Descrição

Mushroom
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Etiquetas

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 11:28 AM CDT

Descrição

Boxelder Bugs
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 11:19 AM CDT

Descrição

Deptford Pink
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 11:12 AM CDT

Descrição

Green Metallic Bee on Dandelion
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Etiquetas

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 11:11 AM CDT

Descrição

Sheetweb Spider
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Etiquetas

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 12:23 PM CDT

Descrição

Saffron Meadowhawks, ovipositing
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 12:01 PM CDT

Descrição

Saffron-winged Meadowhawk, female
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 11:58 AM CDT

Descrição

Saffron-winged Meadowhawks
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 11:29 AM CDT

Descrição

White-faced Meadowhawk, male
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 11:25 AM CDT

Descrição

Lance-tipped Darner, male
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 11:18 AM CDT

Descrição

Autumn Meadowhawk, male
stuck on Hackelia seeds
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 11:18 AM CDT

Descrição

Band-winged Meadowhawk, female
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Outubro 4, 2017 11:08 AM CDT

Descrição

Band-winged Meadowhawk, male
Lake Byllesby County Park
Cannon Falls, Minnesota

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