Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
I've more than willing allowed myself to believe that the more we give ourselves room for growth, the more we will grow, which leads to endless sprouts of opportunity and chance.
For some time now, I have been greatly inspired by a man, Dr. Matt Douglas, a former professor of mine / amazing biologist. He offered a week long biology field work course at school, and encouraged me to attend this summer, which i quickly made the decision to take part in this experience. For one, to broaden my knowledge of local native species in Michigan, and secondly, to obtain a tighter grasp scientific methods and the process of compiling research and carrying out in-depth analysis of individual species.
My fellow classmates and I arrived at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute on Sunday the 7th, we got our rooms assigned in the farm house (referred to as the Hyla house), unpacked, and shortly after, began to bond and become good friends. After settling in, we explored a bit of the institutes resources, the lab, landscape, and just became familiar with what we would be working with for the following week.
We choose our subjects to focus on, gathered our tools/equipment needed to aid us in successful captures and preservations of captured specimens, and in no time, we were out there determined to do what we came here for, be biologists. This wasn't as easy as it may seem, not only did we have to key out our own specimens, preserves and display them for others, but on top of that we had to memorize the common and binominal name (genus and species) for every person's findings in the class.
I was impressed how the team pulled together; everyone was more than willing to help out in the field or in the lab and it was a great feeling of support.
I focused on the order Odonata with emphasis on species in Anisoptera and Zygoptera (Dragonflies and Damselflies). I hunted them down, captured them, mounted/pinned them, and then lastly, keyed them out in order to gain as much information as possible on each specific species. I loved every step of the process, the rush of adrenaline of carrying out something successfully was a phenomenal feeling.
Overall, i gained a lot of knowledge and made some amazing friends that i will never forget. Together we got tortured by mosquitoes, trenched though chest high, leech infested water, and hiked the various terrian's (lets not forget the non-science times of capture the flag, Tu Jacks, wine-bag-slapping, getting stuck in trees, and sitting around the fire with the mustache flask). Without James, Max, Nate, Sean, Steve, Elizebeth, Betsy and Olivia this experience would not have been the same. I honestly could not have asked for anything more than the experience that was handed to me.
The following is specific information reguarding my species findings:
I spent many days out in the meadows and wetlands trying to capture, identify, and study local dragonflies and damselflies. I had a hard time at first acquiring the skills to gather as many as I would have wanted, but with time, I learned the correct method to use when hunting these creatures. At the end of the week I was content with the diversity of my collection I was able to display.
The first set of dragonflies I caught was a male and female Common Whitetail (Libellula lydia), which belong to the family Libellulidae (Skimmers). They were conveniently flying near each other, mid-trail, passing through the prairie. At first, I was almost sure they were different species due to the obvious physical features, but I learned quickly the reasoning behind the physical differences in sexes. The male was med/large size, had a bright, white frosted tail, with thick, dark banded wings; while the female was a bit smaller, lacked white tail, and wing bands were thinner, tapering out towards the end. The extra 'eye catching' features the males carry not only attract our eyes, but the eyes of a potential mate, thus, the reason for standing out.
On my next outing, I was able to obtain three more dragonflies in the family Libellulidae, but of a different species, Meadowhawk (Libellula sympetrum). I captured two males and one female which were found along the edges of the marsh lands. Their Latin name means "with rock" and was formed from their daily repetition of basking on rocks near water to absorb heat during the day (Lung, Sommer "Structure Analysis of the Wing of a Dragonfly"). Both male and female were generally medium in size, but with color variation between the sexes. The females are a dull green with a rough, brownish/yellow pattern extending down the petiole and abdomen. The male was the same shape and size, and also had a dull green body; he differed (stood out) with his deep red pattern that also extended across the petiole and abdomen. Both male and female dragonfly displayed clear wings, bearing an obvious stigma, which is a 'mark' (cluster of cells), located near the end of the wings. The stigma is considered a key contribution in increasing the flexibility of the wings and preventing fatigue fractures (Machida, Shimanuki 671-76).
My final successful capture in the family Libellulidae was the unique and intriguing Skimmer called the Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina). I found him in the open meadows by tall grass and weeds. He was an easy catch due to having some rips in both of his wings, which defected his normal flight. He was med/large in size, with a brownish/orange body, and yellow face/eyes. His name is derived from his distinctive bright orange wings that display a heavy brown stipe, giving off a Halloween color scheme. Unlike most grouped in Odonata, the Halloween Pennant is capable and able to fly through rain and strong wind (Dunkle 233). Another characteristic that makes this dragonfly different is his lack of territorial instincts. This male keeps to himself and has his saved energy aimed towards finding females.
My last, most prideful, catch amongst the dragonflies was the Black-tipped Darner (Aeshna tuberculifera). This was by far the largest and most beautiful dragonfly I had seen on all the days out in the field. This Darner flies very fast and abnormally high compared to others in the family, and is known for his aerial supremacy (Bryan "Talk about Wildlife"). Though I had seen this Darner occasionally, I didn't plan on actually catching him on any of my days out on the trails due to his unique survival skills. It took the team work of three people to manage the success of this capture. We slowly followed it along the edge of the forest front; it was flying in and out of the trees tops, very high up. It took one person to spot it, the second person throwing a walnut towards him, making him loose direction, and an expert jumper/net swinger (me) to gracefully capture him in my net.
The Black-tipped Darner displays beautiful, bold lateral thoracic stripes of vibrant blues and hints of yellow. The abdomen has an organized display of mosaic blue spots that terminates in a black tip. They have large deep green eyes, and heavily veined, long wings. Oddly, the females look very similar to males, but in addition have red or yellow spots around the thorax. These Darners prefer marsh land and tend to perch towards the tip of trees. They are known to have temporary habitats, meaning they are always on the go, and can turn up anywhere ("Aeshna: Identifying Mosaic Darners"). Last interesting fact, the name "Aeshna" was created by a Danish entomologist in the 18th century on accident when a printing error occurred changing the initial word "Aeschna" which meant "a spear" into Aeshna ("Aeshna: Facts, Discussion Forum"), they decided it was not worth the hassle of re-printing the documents, and stuck with the misspelled word.
Lastly, I was able to catch two different species of damselflies. The first one was the Common Black-winged Damselfly (Calopteryx maculate), which was fairly easy to catch, seeing they love to gather by, or hover over water and wetlands edges (exactly where I found him). This damselfly is medium in size, and displays a striking metallic green body that reflects a vibrant blue, it's under body is a dull black. The Genus Calopteryx was derived from the Greek word "kalos" meaning beautiful. Protruding from its slender long body, are equally long, think wings that narrow as they approach the body. Males and females both display the same body type and color; sometimes the females will reflect blown instead of blue like the males. The wings are key in determining the sex. The males have velvet-like black wings, which you cannot see through, and the females have clear black wings with a white spot on them (maculata: Latin for "spot", referring to the females). It's more common to catch a male because the females typically perch on grass or tress, while the male patrols over his territory. Lastly, these damselflies have a distinct eating process, they will perch directly in from of a sun lit area, and when an insect passes through the rays it will quickly snatch it up mid-air with its hairy legs and return to its perching spot to feast on its prey ("Identifying Insects: Black Winged Damselflies"). I found this species to be unique and interesting to research.
Last but not least, my final species captured was one of the smallest damselflies, The Violet Dancer (Argia violacea). These damselflies can almost always be found right near the water's edge, the Violet Dancer specifically, is one of the most daring of all the Dancers and will wander a bit through thick grass and brush. The males have large dark eyes, bearing violet eye spots that seem to make up their entire head. The 1.1 inch body follows, flaunting its beautiful iridescent purple colors, with distinct black etchings on their thorax. Sadly, the females are just a dull brown and have nothing flashy to show off other than the capability of reproduction that seems to draw the males to them. Both have tiny, slender bodies, bearing small transparent wings with a distinct stigma. The Violet Dancers received their name due to the fact they have trouble sitting still. They don't typically perch for longer than a brief second, then their off to the next location. They can be easily keyed out, if not by color, by their long setae on the front of their tibiae, which are twice as long as any others. This helps them prefect grip of their foundation or potential prey.
- comments