Common Baskettail(Epitheca cynosura)
Frosted Whiteface(Leucorrhinia frigida)
Frosted Whiteface(Leucorrhinia frigida)
American Emerald(Cordulia shurtleffii)
American Emerald(Cordulia shurtleffii)
Ebony Boghaunter
Ebony Boghaunter(Williamsonia fletcheri)
I debated whether to take the dragonfly net with me and decided against it since it seemed too early in the season for dragonflies and there were none last week when I was out in the same area. In the end I left the net behind. I was surprised when I reached the ring bog on the Arkon Lake hiking trail and came across a Frosted Whiteface perched on a low shrub. The temperature was only about plus 5 C and it had been a cool night. Shortly after this my son (home for the summer from his Wildlife Biology course and awaiting his summer job as a park naturalist in Algonquin) found an Ebony Boghaunter. Dunkle says that these are rare and local inhabitants of northeastern bogs, so we were both happy to be able to add this one to our life list. Dunkle says that the Boghaunter appears mid-May so this is a little early. The American Emerald on the other hand is one of the earliest Spring dragonflies and one we have seen before. The Common Baskettail is another early Spring dragonfly. Even without the net the dragonflies could be caught by hand or photographed in place without too much trouble. As the weather warms and they become more active the net will become essential.
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