I went to a Fish Commission access on the Conestoga River near Millersville, PA. It was really hot and I only lasted two hours. Amazingly I did not see one dragonfly of any species. I was however surprised by finding American Rubyspot
(Heterina americana) damsels along the shore. When I lived in Berks County, PA we had one official sighting back in 2009. This species is known to frequent areas where American water willow
(Justicia americana) can be found in flowing stream habitats. I had asked a friend botanist who told me that Water Willow not been seen in the Schuylkill River for years.
Below are examples of male and female American Rubyspots.
American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) M by
Tony Schoch, on Flickr
American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) F by
Tony Schoch, on Flickr
Another damselfly in very good numbers was the Powdered Dancer
(Argia moesta). This is a larger sized damsel that becomes pruinose (powered) as it matures. The immature females can be morphologically different colors. When mature and pruinose, they are our only black and white damselflies. Below are female blue form, brown form and pruinose in mating tandem.
Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta) F Brown Form by
Tony Schoch, on Flickr
Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta) F Blue Form by
Tony Schoch, on Flickr
Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta) Tandem by
Tony Schoch, on Flickr
Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta) M by
Tony Schoch, on Flickr
Hoping for some relief from this heat we are all suffering under. Hope you enjoyed these and have a wonderful day
>i< Doc
Great finds, Doc. It is really hot here, too. I have been staying indoors mostly.
kpmac wrote:
Great finds, Doc. It is really hot here, too. I have been staying indoors mostly.
Thanks Ken. It's going to get worse here through Sunday. As they said in Hill Street Blues, "Hey, let's be careful out there!"
>i< Doc
I appreciate the thumbs up.
>i< Doc
Thanks for the thumbs up Tom.
>i< Doc
angler wrote:
Excellent set Doc.
Hi Jim! Thanks for looking in and the fine comment. Have a great day.
>i< Doc
docshark wrote:
I went to a Fish Commission access on the Conestoga River near Millersville, PA. It was really hot and I only lasted two hours. Amazingly I did not see one dragonfly of any species. I was however surprised by finding American Rubyspot
(Heterina americana) damsels along the shore. When I lived in Berks County, PA we had one official sighting back in 2009. This species is known to frequent areas where American water willow
(Justicia americana) can be found in flowing stream habitats. I had asked a friend botanist who told me that Water Willow not been seen in the Schuylkill River for years.
Below are examples of male and female American Rubyspots.
American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) M by
Tony Schoch, on Flickr
American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) F by
Tony Schoch, on Flickr
Another damselfly in very good numbers was the Powdered Dancer
(Argia moesta). This is a larger sized damsel that becomes pruinose (powered) as it matures. The immature females can be morphologically different colors. When mature and pruinose, they are our only black and white damselflies. Below are female blue form, brown form and pruinose in mating tandem.
Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta) F Brown Form by
Tony Schoch, on Flickr
Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta) F Blue Form by
Tony Schoch, on Flickr
Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta) Tandem by
Tony Schoch, on Flickr
Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta) M by
Tony Schoch, on Flickr
Hoping for some relief from this heat we are all suffering under. Hope you enjoyed these and have a wonderful day
>i< Doc
I went to a Fish Commission access on the Conestog... (
show quote)
Another excellent set Doc
Thanks for the encouragement Frank.
>i< Doc
J-SPEIGHT wrote:
Another excellent set Doc
I really appreciate that Jack. Thanls for looking in and the fine comment.
>i< Doc
Thanks for another great lesson Doc!
randave2001 wrote:
Thanks for another great lesson Doc!
Thanks Dave. The Rubyspots are a beautiful species. This was my first trip down to the river since moving here and I really expected to see some great dragons. Wow, not even a Blue Dasher!
>i< Doc
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