tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-107301772012-02-16T02:04:12.312-05:00A place for my notes on the Dragonflies and Damselflies in Michigan, as well as tips on collecting, observing and anything else that is even remotely related...Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.comBlogger541100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-36711364427624263092012-02-12T20:56:00.001-05:002012-02-13T08:20:43.764-05:00

Making my job easier, and yours, too. Over the past 15 years, I have entered many thousands of records of Odonata into the MOS database. Others have also done the same. After each season, I have many specimens submitted to me, most with computer-generated labels of some type. Now, it may seem trivial, but getting everyone to use the same system instead of idiosyncratic methods is harder

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-67987728540925411682012-02-09T13:57:00.000-05:002012-02-14T10:49:11.808-05:00

I have been very preoccupied with the planning, implementation, and supervision of the move of our alcohol-preserved specimens into our new wet facility at Varsity Drive. Planning for this started almost exactly 4 years ago, and now about half of the insects from our wet collection have moved in. This facility is not just for Insects, but all of the UMMZ wet collections, and space-wise this

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-4705863189388207282012-02-04T11:15:00.000-05:002012-02-05T00:28:07.939-05:00

The Ode-watcher community has seen a veritable plethora of Odonata books arrive over the past few years. Some are regional, others are more wide-ranging. It's a completely different situation than what existed 20 years ago. Of course, "popularity" of a group of organisms is dependent on how easily they are seen, how widespread, attractive and interesting they are, and how many resources exist

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-76440071556321769712011-10-31T12:06:00.003-04:002011-10-31T12:06:56.558-04:00

Happy Halloween from the Halloween Pennant, Celithemis eponina. Stay tuned for an exciting announcement later this week...

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-39912908179204177422011-09-22T08:38:00.004-04:002011-09-22T19:21:18.806-04:00

I was out at Pittsfield Preserve yesterday in the late afternoon, and amazed at how much it had changed since I was last there in July. Of course now the corn is mature and is a significant feature in the fields that surround the wooded areas, but the mosquitoes were not too diminished. There is a small pond (which had a muskrat in it the last time I was there), and I walked over to it in

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-72825164646047722082011-08-31T13:06:00.006-04:002011-08-31T13:26:28.903-04:00

I know I don't post to this blog as often as I should, and I have accumulated some material from the summer season that I had originally wanted to do as short posts. Back in June (June...that was like months ago!!) I managed to get some collecting in at Sturgeon Bay Wilderness Area, which is S of Wilderness State Park on the NW shore of Michigan in Emmet County. It's a beautiful location, with

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-53308289013939257212011-06-20T09:09:00.006-04:002011-06-20T10:02:00.826-04:00

Gomphus fraternus.On Saturday, Adrienne and I did some collecting at Hudson Mills Metropark, which lies N of Dexter, along the Huron River. There are some nice stretches of cobbles and gravelly substrates there, and it's a great place for lots of riverine Odes. It has been a few years since I collected there in June, and there werev lots of teneral Argia in the vegetation, as well as a few

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-9030766208135794962011-06-14T10:38:00.008-04:002011-06-14T10:51:33.669-04:00

Last evening, Adrienne and I checked out Pittsfield Preserve at the S edge of Ann Arbor from about 7- 8:30 pm. The fields adjacent to Marton Road are of course, being farmed, but there is a lot of field area near the woods that has been left to grow in, and that is where the trails follow. There are some small wooded and shrubby ponds to the N, and a small wet area at the N end of the field

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-63421978911235834312011-02-24T17:08:00.003-05:002011-02-24T17:31:28.128-05:00

I was helping my colleague Julie Craves hunt down some specimens from Wayne County in our collection today, and I figure that this could also be a "teachable moment" for people that are gung-ho on collection databases. All of the specimen information in the Michigan Odonata Survey database has been entered by me or people working for me. There should be very few errors in the MOS database at

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-15154872035875730262010-10-15T15:57:00.006-04:002010-10-15T16:12:48.835-04:00

The end of the ode season, that is. Pictured here is a Sympetrum semicinctum that I saw on Tuesday, Oct. 12 at Matthaei Botanical Gardens. I also saw S. vicinum and about 6 Aeshna umbrosa. It amazes me how wary the darners are so late in the fall. I was up in Cheboygan and Emmet counties late last week, and there were a few darners here and there, and I never was able to catch one. They are

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-75920470079988533662010-10-05T09:11:00.004-04:002010-10-05T09:36:46.843-04:00

Aeshna canadensis on tree by Marjorie O'Brien Yesterday afternoon, Jorie and Stephanie accompanied me for a short visit to Crosswinds Marsh (CM) in Sumpter Twp., in SW Wayne County. CM is not a naturally-occurring marsh, but is a mitigated wetland that was constructed in the early 1990's as a result of the expansion of Detroit Metro Airport. There are approximately 900 acres of habitat

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-90202294290442374612010-08-09T09:51:00.003-04:002010-08-09T10:04:57.308-04:00

Today, I received an e-mail from David Dister:Dear Mark:Today while checking a wetland area along the Little Manistee River (where I had discovered a massasuaga rattlesnake two summers ago), I noticed a quite distinctive dragonfly I was not familiar with. I managed to get a few marginal, though diagnostic, photos, and upon returning to my car and references, it appears to be Somatochlora

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-7127823305119083762010-08-08T12:58:00.007-04:002010-08-08T13:29:44.202-04:00

Continuing my theme on Washtenaw County preserves, today's post is about yesterday's trip to Sharon Hills Preserve. Located off Sharon Hollow Road, this 69-acre preserve is mostly old fields with some wooded areas. Although there are significant wetlands to the south, I don't believe they are part of the parcel. As the name implies, the preserve is hilly - some nice glacial mounds with

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-32822120412142188432010-08-01T19:29:00.005-04:002010-08-01T19:47:24.821-04:00

Anax junius at LeFurge Preserve Today I decided to pay a visit to two preserves in the NE part of Washtenaw County - LeFurge Preserve and Kosch-Headwaters Preserve. The Washtenaw County Natural Areas Preservation Program, NAPP, has been active in acquiring parcels that help preserve and enhance the watersheds and also feature an array of habitats. Another organization, the Southeast Michigan

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-80077619828455077462010-07-26T09:52:00.004-04:002010-07-26T10:07:20.694-04:00

I'm embarrassed that I have not posted to this blog in almost 3 years. I guess I was just a bit worn-out from doing so much work on Odonata since 1996. Aside from some occasional forays into the field, and cataloging incoming MOS records, I was not making much progress on the MOS project myself. With things at work being a bit depressing, my other outlet, photography, was getting most of my

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-2141264748579616602007-09-18T08:39:00.000-04:002007-09-18T08:58:54.561-04:00

Lestes sp. at Lillie Park, Washtenaw Co., MI It's mid-September, and though we had a very hot August and early September, the weather is obviously cooling down, and the days are noticeably shorter form the great long days of June. Whereas it was easy to find a dozen or more dragonfly species at a time in June, by September, the fauna has become less diverse. It's time for the gliders and

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-42985025665766520402007-07-07T16:45:00.000-04:002007-07-07T22:14:27.535-04:00

Today wasn't the most productive in terms of adding more species to the Bioblitz lists, but I did manage to go into the UMBS collection and gather data from the specimens there to add to the MOS database. In the process, I was able to add Lestes eurinus to the UMBS list.I have it pretty easy... I think we ended up with 31 species of Odonata for the three days, and when I peeked in at the moth

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-23699744641215596282007-07-06T22:23:00.000-04:002007-07-06T22:49:16.934-04:00

Today was another one of those cloud-free days that should be just great for Odonata. In the morning, Adrienne and I checked out the area near Reeses' Swamp on the N shore of Burt Lake, and came up with only a few sightings/specimens. Carp creek runs through this area and into Burt Lake. The surrounding wetlands are spruce-cedar dominanted with birch and alders. I think this could be a good

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-81344603462170978452007-07-05T22:32:00.000-04:002007-07-05T22:48:47.274-04:00

Today was the first day of the Bioblitz at UMBS (see previous post). A beauty of a day, and we were rewarded with 21 species of Odonata thus far. Zygoptera:Amphiagrion saucium, Enallagma carunculatum, Enallagma cyathigerum, Enallagma hageni, Enallgma vesperum ( a new record for the site); Nehallenia irene, Calopteryx aequabilis, Calopteryx maculata, Lestes dryas.Anisoptera:Basiaeschna janata,

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-52893735498226594122007-07-02T10:39:00.001-04:002007-07-02T10:55:07.885-04:00

I'm heading N on Wednesday to participate in the UM Biological Station's "bioblitz." No, it's not a bunch of blitzed biologists, but an endeavor to inventory the flora and fauna of the station over a couple of days. Generally, they are helpful in garnering interest in biodiversity of a given place, and it gets people all excited about looking for species. Specifically, they are useful some

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-24267374487530163242007-06-16T22:28:00.000-04:002007-06-17T10:55:16.639-04:00

Argia fumipennis violaceaToday, Marjorie and I went over to the Raisin River at Sharon Hollow and Sharon Mill, in the SW part of Washtenaw Co., and came up with a new county record. After many missed attempts that probably made us look like fools, I netted a Nasiaeshna pentacantha - the Cyrano darner. I saw several flying over the impoundment by the dam at Sharon Mill. I had seen one or two

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-88623453197275602007-06-09T22:14:00.000-04:002007-06-09T22:31:28.181-04:00

Lestes dryas maleAt some point, I'm going to have to finish up the Odes of Washtenaw County, seeing that there really is no reason not to, other than inertia. Today was a good visit to one of my favorite Odonata sites, Embury Road over in Lyndon Twp., on the NW corner of the county. That particular area is wonderfully diverse, with Tamarack bogs, cattail marshes, small fens, seeps, deciduous

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-59429273088165352482007-06-03T19:32:00.000-04:002007-06-03T19:39:05.418-04:00

I was at Nichols Arboretum today photographing the peonies with Adrienne-- the weather was overcast, humid, threatning to rain -- in other words, a great day for Rhionaeschna mutata -- I saw at least three flying around the peony garden, and a few were catching small insects. I managed to get a rather crappy photo of one hanging onto a flower, since I did not have the macro lens on the camera.

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-15178495008122419972007-05-29T09:41:00.000-04:002007-05-29T10:04:48.732-04:00

About 8 years ago, I started looking at the Ode fauna along the Embury Road area in NW Washtenaw Co., MI. That first year, Ethan Bright and I scouted out a small pond on the E side of Embury Rd. that wasn't on any maps, except as a wetland. At that time, the water was about 2 feet deep, and that year, we saw plenty of Rhionaeschna mutata, the Spatterdock darner. It turns out that mutata is

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-5972488786196593942007-04-30T09:23:00.001-04:002007-04-30T09:23:10.594-04:00

First Green Darner of 2007 Originally uploaded by mfophotos. Well, it's not THE first green darner of 2007 in Michigan (I believe Stephen Ross sighted one a couple of weeks ago), but it's the first one that I have seen. I saw my first green darners of the season (Anax junius) yesterday at Metzger Marsh and Crane Creek wildlife areas along Lake Erie in NW Ohio. Later in the day, I

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-25804521115862112382007-02-21T11:48:00.001-05:002007-02-21T11:49:35.113-05:00

at work -- bizarre to you, not me Originally uploaded by mfophotos. For the past few weeks, I have been slogging through the larval specimens deposited here by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory from their 1997 Larval Survey. Yesterday, I entered the data for the last of the vials, which gives us about 4470 vials databased. I'll update the web versions of the databases after we switch

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1157855467490474412006-09-09T22:25:00.000-04:002006-09-09T22:31:07.520-04:00

Damselfly portrait Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.Today I finally had a day in the field at Humbug Marsh, south of Detroit, in Wayne Co. Adrienne and I joined Julie Craves and Darrin O'Brien, ostensibly in search of some unsual wasps. There were quite a few Odes out -- thousands of Enallgma civile were flying over vegetation and feeding. Lots of Pantala flavescens and a few Anax junius and

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1150836522009168432006-06-20T16:41:00.000-04:002006-06-20T16:48:42.023-04:00

I was walking down an Ann Arbor street yesterday around noon, and watched a female Pantala flavescens repeatedly go through the motions of oviposition on the hood of a mini-van. I had seen this behavior before, but not in the middle of town. I know that this species depends on quick flights into small ponds and pools to reproduce. I have seen their larvae in man-made pools in town, as well.

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1150168358355230792006-06-12T23:09:00.000-04:002006-06-12T23:12:38.416-04:00

Hanging Out Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.On Saturday, I was shooting photos of insects in my front yard, and I saw what looked like an Epitheca go flitting by and land on a plant. I watched as he flew up again and then perched on a silene stalk. I approached very slowly and eventually was within a foot of him, shooting photos all the while. Satisfied that I got all I needed, I knew I had

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1148954612071203032006-05-29T22:00:00.000-04:002006-05-29T22:03:32.106-04:00

Emerald eyes Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.Check out this month's Traverse Magazine (June 2006). It has a big article on Hine's Emerald and prominently features the Michigan Odonata Survey as well as the UMMZ and me. Best of all the magazine used three of my photos, and the one here is a full-pager. Pretty darn cool exposure for Hine's, for Odonatology, and the MOS! I bought a copy at

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1139243498814430742006-02-06T11:24:00.000-05:002006-02-06T11:31:38.830-05:00

I always felt that we were doing pretty good on our database of Michigan Odonata. Last week I entered the remaining specimens from Julie and Darrin into our MOS database, and went over 25,000 records. That's pretty darn good for a group like the Odonata. A lot of states (in fact, most) do not have a specimen-level database that is the equal of ours. I suspect only Ohio has this much data.So,

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1136158193130899452006-01-01T18:29:00.000-05:002006-01-01T18:29:53.156-05:00

what I am working on Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.Well, a first post for the new year, and as seen in the photo, you can see that I have been working on compiling a yearly summary for the newsletter. Somewhere around 420 records for 2005, and lots of county records, and one state record. This may not be as much fun as going in the field and catching them, but in the end, it has to be

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1134578620296591702005-12-14T11:40:00.000-05:002005-12-14T11:43:40.310-05:00

This is a book review... A Dazzle of Dragonflies, by Forrest L. Mitchell and James L. Lasswell, Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX. 224 pp, ISBN- 1-58544-459-6. 2005.It is refreshing to stumble upon a book that I didn’t know existed, and to be so pleased with the contents. A Dazzle of Dragonflies (perhaps equal to a squadron of skeeters, a flock of gulls, or a an encampment of

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1127608975573302602005-09-24T20:42:00.000-04:002005-09-24T20:42:55.593-04:00

My new friend Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.Today I gave a "bug walk" at Nichols Arboretum for the Adult Ed program. I had 4 participants, which was great, because I could easily show things and not have to talk too loudly the whole time. The day was mostly overcast with some sun threatening to show. Luckily, the focus was not on Odes. However, I did find an American Ruby Spot along the

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1124105929276096452005-08-15T07:38:00.000-04:002005-08-15T07:40:24.203-04:00

pennant Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.This is the halloween pennant, Celithemis eponina, and normally I'd not get too worked up about such a shot, but I took this one with a lensbaby on my Nikon FM. It came out much sharper than I thought it would, and the background is beautifully out of focus. Pennants are really fun to watch -- once one picks a perch, it seems determined to stay with

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1123004276359103432005-08-02T13:37:00.000-04:002005-08-02T13:37:56.370-04:00

Emerald eyes Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.Back to the topic of Hine's Emerald. I just received a box of specimens from Tim Cashatt. These are vouchers from the survey work performed by Wayne Steffins in 1999. They are being added to the MOS database today. This augments our data considerably, and hopefully will avoid duplication of sites in the future.This photo was taken with my Fiji

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1121608981255902852005-07-17T10:03:00.000-04:002005-07-17T10:03:01.273-04:00

hines emerald perched Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.As in Hine's Emerald dragonfly! On July 13-15, I was at the Hine's Emerald Workshop that took place in St Ignace, MI. Sponsored by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, Michigan DNR, and US Forest Service, the workshop was FINALLY held in Michigan to educate state and federal and NGO conservation people on the habitats and biology of the

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1120576933940045222005-07-05T11:16:00.000-04:002005-07-05T11:23:50.126-04:00

A few days ago Mike Kielb e-mailed me that he'd seen Libellula vibrans at Park Lyndon North in NW Washtenaw County, but was unable to catch it. Today, I was checking my e-mail and found a message from Phil Myers with several photos of dragonflies that he needed indentified. BAM! Photo number two was that of a female L. vibrans from near Mill Lake, near Chelsea. The fact that the individual

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1120531789232096452005-07-04T22:33:00.000-04:002005-07-05T11:11:54.516-04:00

The last week of June found me in Delta County with my wife and daughter, and for the fisrt few days we camped at a state forest campground at Portage Bay, which is on the opposite side of the Garden Peninsula from Fayette State Park. The area is primarily a shallow soil layer over dolomitic limestone -- part of the Niagara Escarpment, which is much more obvious on the eastern end of the UP near

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1118850817749548852005-06-15T11:52:00.000-04:002005-06-15T11:53:37.756-04:00

Gulliver's Travels Revisited Hagenius brevistylus larva with attached Zebra mussels, Photo by P. Myers.Remember how the Lilliputians tied down Gulliver? They were small, but many. Zebra Mussels, are small, but they have tied down many a structure in the Great lakes due to their enormous numbers of individuals that accumulate. This latest blog entry was inspired by Phil Myers from the UM Museum

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1118628912508631752005-06-12T22:12:00.000-04:002005-06-13T09:21:05.596-04:00

Entomology BooksThanks to Nannothemis, she convinced me, or rather railroaded me into doing this book meme thing. I have been an entomologist for over 30 years, counting my teenage years when I was a budding bugologist. Obviously, I have read many entomology books, some cover to cover; others, just a page when I need to refer to something. In college at the SUNY College of Environmental

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1118080327842170222005-06-06T13:46:00.000-04:002005-06-06T13:52:46.990-04:00

GOMPHUS SPICATUS (courtesy of Phil Myers, UMMZ)Gomphid dragonflies are predominantly dwellers of moving water, but a few (Arigomphus, the pond clubtails, and this species) are lake dwellers. Gomphus spicatus is one such dragonfly -- larvae are found mostly in lotic situations, and where they are found in streams, they tend to be encountered in slow moving slough-like habitats. This one is

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1117367301469811462005-05-29T07:48:00.000-04:002005-05-29T07:48:21.486-04:00

dragonfly 169 2855a Originally uploaded by lorayne.I didn't shoot this one, but I'm using it as an example of some awesome Odonata images that have been appearing on the group I started on flickr. You can see them here: dragonflies pool

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1115737497994739652005-05-10T11:04:00.000-04:002005-05-10T11:04:58.016-04:00

Eastern Forktail Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.Ischnura verticalis, also known as the Eastern Forktail, is perhaps the commonest species of Odonata in North America. This little sprightly fellow flew up in front of me near a pond off Embury Road in NW Washtenaw Co., MI. It is one of the earliest species to emerge, and can be found in any pond-like environment, from storm water retention

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1115598821055266102005-05-08T20:33:00.000-04:002005-05-10T11:29:43.340-04:00

Spring darner Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.Basiaeschna janata is a resident of streams, so finding one this early is a bit unusual. As you can tell, it's a female that is not sexually mature, as the coloration is rather pale. She probably emerged from the larval stage within the past 48 hrs. This particular one was flying in an open field area near Sullivan Lake, in NW Washtenaw Co. Our

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1115132589166292072005-05-03T10:48:00.000-04:002005-05-03T11:03:09.166-04:00

What wacky weather we have. Almost a month ago, it was in the 60s. We lost all our glaciers (at least in the Lower peninsula -- you yoopers, probably still have them). Then it climbed to near 80. Students were sunbathing in thongs on campus. Bees were flying. Anax junius was spotted. Daffodils and Magnolias were blooming like crazy. Then, two weekends ago we had 4 inches of snow.

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1114039691816175342005-04-20T19:28:00.000-04:002005-04-20T19:29:54.450-04:00

Waiting for a meal Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.This is a Plathemis lydia, taken last June in Sharon Twp., MI. It is is not the earliest resident species to appear, but in favorably warm ponds, it can emerge as early as mid-May. Typically, it is preceded by Enallagma boreale, Ischnura verticalis, Epitheca cynosura, spinigera, and canis, as well as Ladona julia. The one that beats them

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1110571903514228772005-03-11T15:06:00.000-05:002005-03-11T15:16:42.750-05:00

Stylurus lauraeSusan Fawcett, the student that is illustrating some of the Odonata larvae for me, is doing a great job. Her skills and enthusiasm are great assets, and I believe her work will be very helpful as I start using some of the images on the web for our Odonata larval key, and later on, these images may also be used in the MOS publications that result from our survey.

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1110464167630592492005-03-10T09:16:00.000-05:002005-03-10T09:16:07.630-05:00

Calopteryx1small Originally uploaded by argusmaniac.This Calopteryx maculata female was feeding on small flies near the River raisin in SW Washtenaw Co. in June 2003. I followd her around and shot several frames before she flew off and I could not take the mosquitoes any longer. With the lengthy stay of the chill of winter, when I look at shots like this, I recall how nice it will be to feel

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1109621001846467482005-02-28T15:03:00.000-05:002005-02-28T15:18:11.593-05:00

As I look out my window -- it's sunny, snowy, and about 20 degrees F. February is about over. We have had a continually cold winter with few breaks, and I am hoping that spring will arrive soon. This has been an atypical winter for us --lots of snow, and no really big thaws -- just enough to melt a lot of snow cover in a couple of days, mostly because of rain, not sun. Then more snow and

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1108460474898669422005-02-15T04:41:00.000-05:002005-02-15T07:51:48.450-05:00

A Must have book for 2005 is the Damselflies of the Northeast by Ed Lam. - A guide to the species of eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. It is also applicable to Michigan and much of the Great lakes region. Published by Biodiversity Books, this is a masterpiece - I would say that it is the best guide I have seen for our continent on this group of Odonata. Wondrous color

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1108050103020903732005-02-10T10:23:00.000-05:002005-02-10T16:42:33.826-05:00

In December, my friend Dave Cuthrell from Michigan Natural Features Inventory brought us an early holiday gift -- about 500 vials of larvae and exuviae from surveys the MNFI did in 1997. That was about the time the MOS was just getting going. Bill Smith from Wisconsin identified most of them in 1999. I have been transferring the specimens from the huge vials from MNFI into our smaller vials,

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1108041873971881472005-02-10T08:23:00.000-05:002005-02-10T08:24:33.970-05:00

Mark has always had a secret desire for me to get a leg up on him! -- Nannothemis

Nannothemis (Julie Craves)noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10730177.post-1107980641095577962005-02-09T14:54:00.000-05:002005-02-09T15:50:37.996-05:00

After I saw my friend Julie's Urban Dragon Hunter Blog, I figured that no way was she going get a leg up on me! So, I blame her for this. The Michigan Odonata Survey, of which I have played a big part organizing over the past 9 years, has accumulated a tremendous amount of data, and it is here that I hope to offer some notes on these amazing insects. Hence the name Michigan Odonotes. I will

Mark O'Brienhttps://profiles.google.com/113379480400764323745noreply@blogger.com0