An Ode to Odes

NJChileHead

Explorer
Dec 22, 2011
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Yesterday my sons and I were fishing in the Pine Barrens, and we came across a few dragonflies, which brought me to write this post.

Every year it seems like my sons and I have a theme in the outdoors. We've been through herping, birding, botanizing, bushcraft, fishing, and at the beginning of this year, we decided to focus our efforts on a 'big year' list for dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata or 'odes' for short).

According to NJOdes.org, there are 183 different species of Odonates in New Jersey, with Sussex County having the highest diversity (145 species). The Pine Barrens in total weighs in at 124 species (again according to NJOdes). Between lots of time in Central NJ and a brief trip to the Adirondacks, our big year list came in at 58. (Seems we could have done better!).

I've found just about everything about them to be fascinating, a few things that stuck out to me:

The behavior of dragonflies is similar in several ways to birds. Some dragonflies are migratory (common green darners being a popular example), and like monarch butterflies, the insects that leave in the fall are not the same ones that return in the spring. Also like birds, some Odes hunt from perches (like flycatchers) and some hunt on the wing (like swallows).

They are territorial, and male dragonflies will brutalize one another for favorable foraging perches or areas. A brief visit to a pond in summer will reveal this quickly.

They mate in a position which we cannot (no comments about why we practice it anyway) called the copulation wheel. Males can also remove the sperm from fertilized females and insert their own. This reminds me of the spermatophore capping that occurs with Ambystomid (mole) salamanders.

Although they will do no harm to us, they are ruthless hunters, with their appetites in tune with the insects which try to make meals out of us (mosquitos, etc.). Their flight abilities are spectacular, as each wing is controlled with individual musculature. It frankly surprises me that any birds can catch them, but I've seen it happen. I once watched a dragonfly through binoculars catch a mosquito and promptly be taken by a purple martin. All that needed to happen was to have a hawk come along and grab the martin and it would have been like a David Attenborough film.

I've heard it suggested that some (like halloween pennants and widow skimmers) are butterfly mimics, which increases their chances of sneaking up on prey without being detected. Their larvae are also very effective aquatic predators, which are extremely opportunistic and will take anything they can fit in their alien-like jaws.

They will thermoregulate by basking like reptiles, whirring their wings, or changing their body angle to minimize surface area. Some will even dip themselves in the water to cool off.

The names! Contrasted with the wispy, delicate names of butterflies, our clubtails, spiketails, meadowhawks, sanddragons, snaketails, dragonhunters, dragonlets, boghaunters, shadowdragons, pondhawks, and sundragons give them alpha status among the invertebrates.

Last but not least, nothing prepares one for the frustration of trying to take odeing seriously and identify every one that zips by at what seems like 8000 mi/hr. If you bring a camera, you will need a net. If you bring a net, you will need a camera. If you bring both you will need binoculars. If you only bring binoculars you will need a chiropractor. Don't try to bring all three, you won't be able to carry them all.

So yesterday, the day after Christmas, we were out fishing and got a visit from an Autumn meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum). These little guys are fascinating because they hang on so far into the year. Their strategy of laying eggs in areas that are only damp but will later fill with water is reminiscent of that of marbled salamanders, who lay their eggs in dried vernal pools only to have them hatch when the pools fill. They will also sometimes lay eggs in permanent bodies of water. If you see a little red dragonfly on a warm day later in the year in the Pine Barrens, it's most likely an autumn meadowhawk. Here's a pic of my son hanging out with one of the 4 autumn meadowhawks that we saw yesterday.

Thanks for looking!

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NJChileHead

Explorer
Dec 22, 2011
831
628
Great post. I like them too, but have not studied them at all.

They're a blast, but be forewarned, it's another level of frustration at times. I told a friend of mine over the summer that odeing and atheism are mutually exclusive, in that you can only believe for so long that there isn't a higher power pointing and laughing at you. :D

Sometimes the stars align and you get a great pic of some real gems.

7-12-21 Common Green Darner.JPG
 

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,153
4,258
Pines; Bamber area
I once exited a cedar swamp in bamber onto Dover Road, and I heard the slap-slap-slap of a guy running full out, in sneakers. He had that net high, his chest out, and eyes wide, trying to pull one in; he seemed about 19 years old. A knot of older gents were in the background. They were out for the chase too, and were grinning, watching him run after them. They no longer had to do the hard work.
 

ecampbell

Piney
Jan 2, 2003
2,840
958
A great Ode.! One year I decided to make them my study, then I found out there were so many versions so now I just view and enjoy, Damsel Flies included. Our life on this planet is truly remarkable, most times missed because it seems normal, but it isn't. I also peered into my DNA and am looking forward to the Webb telescope. I was kind of indifferent until I heard how Cap't Kirk described his experience into space. Earth is a warm home.
 

Jon Holcombe

Explorer
Dec 1, 2015
967
1,934
Medford
Great dragonfly post. I would rather photograph dragonflies than raptors. I used to chase them, until I realized that many varieties come back to the same branch or leaf or plant, and if I just sat in one place they came back to me. When I get a chance I will post some of my shots.

One hot spring day sitting on the bank of an old dike at a bog, and some large unrecognizable insect came right at me. As it closed I realized it was a dragonfly carrying an unfortunate but still living meal. It flew right by my head into one of the many big cavities in the ground to finish it's meal unobserved.
 

NJChileHead

Explorer
Dec 22, 2011
831
628
I once exited a cedar swamp in bamber onto Dover Road, and I heard the slap-slap-slap of a guy running full out, in sneakers. He had that net high, his chest out, and eyes wide, trying to pull one in; he seemed about 19 years old. A knot of older gents were in the background. They were out for the chase too, and were grinning, watching him run after them. They no longer had to do the hard work.

Ha! I watched my son (he was about 10 at the time) chase a blue dasher up and down a trail adjacent to a lake only to have it land on his hat. I'll have to see if I can dig up that picture.

John, please do post pictures! Your photos are incredible, I look forward to seeing them.

I'm glad others on here enjoy them, studying them is an easy rabbit hole to go down, and I think avid birders would enjoy it because their peak time is the quietest time for birds because of nesting.

A few of my favorites from this year were the saltmarsh specialists, probably because I geek out about adaptations in nature (plus I drove over an hour to see them and it wasn't too challenging to find all three). Here are a few that are found in saltmarshes where many other species will not be found:

Needham's skimmer:

7-15-2021 Needhams Skimmer 2.JPG


Seaside dragonlet. The first two are females, note both plain-wing and spot-wing form. Immatures are patterned the same way. The mature male is the last pic, they are blueish black.

7-15-2021 Seaside Dragonlet F Plain Wing Form.JPG

7-15-2021 Seaside Dragonlet F Spot Wing.JPG


7-15-2021 Seaside Dragonlet.JPG


Rambur's forktail (damselfly). These are very similar to the more common and widespread Eastern forktail, but they have blue eyespots instead of green, and slightly less blue on the last abdominal segments.

7-15-2021 Ramburs Forktail.JPG
 

NJChileHead

Explorer
Dec 22, 2011
831
628
Mark loads of Dragon and damselflies here along trail in summer.Lot of wildflowers along here that attract insect prey.
Do you have the NJ Dragonf;ly book? I have it here,it's a great resource.

Hey Al, yes I do have it! I was fortunate to have a friend of mine send me a copy when I told him about our big year. Cumberland County is supposed to be great for dragonflies. We did get to see Uhler's sundragon down there early this year which is quite rare.
 
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CurMUDgeon

Scout
Apr 30, 2010
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If you are thinking about getting into Odes, as your experience progresses, I believe you will find that the wire coil bound NJ guide is a bit limited especially when it comes to the quality and angles of the photos.
If you pick up a copy of Paulson's Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East I think you'll enjoy it.
You should also augment your ode resources with Ed Lam's fantastic Damselflies of the Northeast - a small book that makes it MUCH easier to ID these sometimes confusing insects.
Ode folks are anxiously anticipating Ed's guide to Dragonflies that he's been working on for years.
 

NJChileHead

Explorer
Dec 22, 2011
831
628
If you are thinking about getting into Odes, as your experience progresses, I believe you will find that the wire coil bound NJ guide is a bit limited especially when it comes to the quality and angles of the photos.
If you pick up a copy of Paulson's Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East I think you'll enjoy it.
You should also augment your ode resources with Ed Lam's fantastic Damselflies of the Northeast - a small book that makes it MUCH easier to ID these sometimes confusing insects.
Ode folks are anxiously anticipating Ed's guide to Dragonflies that he's been working on for years.

Hey @CurMUDgeon , thank you for posting this! I do have these books, they've been extremely valuable in my pursuits.

Also, have you heard any more about Ed's dragonfly book? I wholeheartedly agree with you about his damselflies book.

I'll probably be haunting Whitesbog/Brendan Byrne a little more this summer in search of Pine Barrens odes. I didn't hit the Pine Barrens once last year (with the exception of a visit to Cumberland County in April), despite working on a big year with my kids. I imagine that kept about 20 off my list.

@Jon Holcombe when you get a chance, please post some of those Odonata shots!
 

CurMUDgeon

Scout
Apr 30, 2010
82
24
43
Where needed.
Hey @CurMUDgeon , thank you for posting this! I do have these books, they've been extremely valuable in my pursuits.

Also, have you heard any more about Ed's dragonfly book? I wholeheartedly agree with you about his damselflies book.

I'll probably be haunting Whitesbog/Brendan Byrne a little more this summer in search of Pine Barrens odes. I didn't hit the Pine Barrens once last year (with the exception of a visit to Cumberland County in April), despite working on a big year with my kids. I imagine that kept about 20 off my list.

@Jon Holcombe when you get a chance, please post some of those Odonata shots!
I'm friends with Ed on Facebook and he and his family have moved a few times over the past couple of years. I know work on the book is progressing but these moves must play a factor in how long it's taking. That and Ed's meticulous painting!
I was also not out and about over the last two seasons anywhere near what I had been over the previous years.
I do want to do a multi day trip up to Sussex County in search of so many of the species we don't get down here in The Pines.
 
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NJChileHead

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Dec 22, 2011
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I'm friends with Ed on Facebook and he and his family have moved a few times over the past couple of years. I know work on the book is progressing but these moves must play a factor in how long it's taking. That and Ed's meticulous painting!
I was also not out and about over the last two seasons anywhere near what I had been over the previous years.
I do want to do a multi day trip up to Sussex County in search of so many of the species we don't get down here in The Pines.

We took a ride up to Sussex County last year. It was a short visit because of how hot it was, but we got eastern least clubtail and some rusty snaketails, along with a few dragonhunters in a short time.

Another thing: last year I intended to search more areas in Central Jersey close to the Delaware River. There's a field adjacent to the river near where the Hunterdon/Mercer County line is. I'll bet lots of different species (esp. clubtails) forage there and along the edges. I hope to get out there this year.
 
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