[tn-dragonflies] Re: tn-dragonflies Digest V4 #48

From: David Trently <naturetours@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "tn-dragonflies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <tn-dragonflies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 9 Feb 2014 05:34:39 -0800 (PST)
Great to see a post about dragonflies from Tennessee, especially while the 
temperature is in the single digits (6 degrees) in PA where I now live.
A couple comments on Richard Connor's posts....

1) I still have those Species Not Seen lists for all counties of Tennessee. 
Glad to know someone was using them :-)
While they are not currently available on a web page, I can send them to anyone 
interested. I do hope to get them online somewhere one of these days, possible 
on the Northeast Pennsylvania Audubon Society web page, though as you might 
expect, the PA county pages would need to go up first. 

2) Someone definitely should be able to find a Band-winged Meadowhawk in Blount 
County. I saw one off Sparks Lane in Cades Cove on July 8, 2004. Unfortunately, 
that was before my camera-wielding days and I have no photo. It's also the last 
time I ever saw that species.

I will be guiding a birding group in east Tennessee in mid-April. I'll keep my 
camera ready to try to add a new species!!
 
David Trently 
northeast Pennsylvania
...come see the real world!

Partnership for International Birding
http://pibird.com/


________________________________
 From: FreeLists Mailing List Manager <ecartis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tn-dragonflies digest users <ecartis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
Sent: Sunday, February 9, 2014 1:10 AM
Subject: tn-dragonflies Digest V4 #48
 

tn-dragonflies Digest    Sat, 08 Feb 2014    Volume: 04  Issue: 048

In This Issue:
        [tn-dragonflies] some numbers January 2014
        [tn-dragonflies] Blount County possible 100

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From: Rconnorsphoto@xxxxxxx
Date: Sat, 8 Feb 2014 14:03:42 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [tn-dragonflies] some numbers January 2014

Chilly Winter Greetings TN Dragonfliers,

A look at Odonata Central records for Tennessee as of January 15,  2014.

For 2013 for the 95 TN counties, the average number of odes recorded per  
county is at 35.4 species per county, up from 34.5 the previous year (2012). 
Of  course it takes 95 records to raise the average one full point, so we 
submitted  only slightly less than that. 

Basement counties are 19 at 19 or less, that is, there are 19 counties with 
fewer than 20 recorded species. And there are now just 6 counties in 
single  digits. Or to look at it another way, we still have 6 counties  in 
single 
digits! But we have not been at this very long, and if our  ranks are few 
then slow progress is to be expected. By comparison the average  number for 
Butterflies is now over 50 per county!  


The leading county is still Blount at 86, others close are Sullivan (75),  
Cumberland (74) & Davidson (71). More thoughts on Blount Co. in another  
post.

Just in case you are interested in this format, I have attached  TN 
counties lists, amended from last winter's lists, one in alphabetical order  
and 
another from least to most. There may be those among us with better math and  
computer skills to deal with the numbers and statistics and  distribution, 
and I'd welcome any other perspectives. I miss David Trently's  Species 
Not-Seen page from a few years ago.

Looking forward to warmer weather and flying odes to chase.

Richard Connors
Nashville



------------------------------

From: Rconnorsphoto@xxxxxxx
Date: Sat, 8 Feb 2014 14:15:15 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [tn-dragonflies] Blount County possible 100


TN  Dragonfliers, 
The season is still a long way off  but here's something to think about in 
the  meanwhile. 
Blount County is still the leading TN county for  number of Odonate species 
listed at Odonata Central - 86. With effort this could  be our first county 
to reach the 100 mark.  
For butterflies the century mark was  passed several years ago in Polk 
County (currently at 114!), and now Hamilton has 104 species listed at BAMONA. 
I 
believe the state total for butterflies is at 140. 
There are now 157 species of odes  listed for TN at OC, so you would think 
100 is not an unreasonable number of  dragonflies, damselflies, for one 
county to attain. 
Blount County has one obvious humdinger of a  habitat area – GSMNP! Much 
scientific work has been done in the Smokies, not the  least of which was 
ATBI, the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventor project run by  Discover Life In 
America (DLIA) over the past 10-plus years.  But there is habitat other than 
the  
Smokies in the county, along embayments of the Tennessee  River for  
example, so there is room for more additions. 
Considering Blount Co.’s 86 and  those not-yet-seen, I have come up with a 
list of 14-plus odes which could  possibly be found in the county:  
Spotted Spreadwing, Lestes  congener 
Amber-winged Spreadwing, Lestes  eurinus 
Aurora Damsel, Chromagrion  conditum 
Vesper Bluet, Enallagma  vesperum 
Southern Sprite, Nehalennia  integricollis 
Unicorn Clubtail, Arigomphus  villosipes 
Appalachian Snaketail, Ophiogomphus  incurvatus 
Maine Snaketail, O.  maiensis 
Zebra Clubtail, Stylurus  scudderi 
Arrowhead Spiketail, Cordulegaster  obliqua 
Stream Cruiser, Didymops  transversa 
Royal River Cruiser, Macromia  taeniolata 
Uhler’s Sundragon, Helocordulia  uhleri 
Ski-tipped Emerald, Somatochlora  elongata 
Band-winged Medowhawk, Sympetrum  semicinctum 
Spotted Spreadwing is a late species, often very late  fall, found in 
marshy edges and small wetlands; at any elevation, more likely  higher. 
Amber-winged Spreadwing is a  higher elevation species, found in typical 
spreadwing 
marshy-weedy  habitat. 
Aurora Damsel is a pond species found early in  the season, in east TN that 
would be late April through June.  Vesper Bluet, as the name implies,  
comes out later in the day, into the evening and past dark; likely to be found  
at lower elevations at water’s edge, ponds or lake. Southern Sprite, and 
possibly other  sprites, are harder to find and harder to predict where found, 
but possible at  vegetated seeps and pond edges . 
Unicorn Clubtail is a pond or slow stream species,  often found at places 
like golf course ponds, so it should be a good  possibility for the county; a 
few other clubtails are possibilities but hard to  predict. Zebra Clubtail 
is a  possibility on lower elev. mountain  streams, late in the season. 
Appalachian Snaketail and Maine Snaketail are  also possible on mountain area 
streams,  early in the season, in May, etc. Arrowhead Spiketail could be found 
at  muddy seeps & tiny streams, wherever that habitat is  found. 
Stream Cruiser is one of the earliest dragonflies,  out in April through 
May, in any habitat near water. Royal River Cruiser should be found  
mid-season, patrolling along the Tennessee  River, Ft. Loudon Lake.  Uhler’s 
Sundragon is another early  season species, on or near small streams, often 
with 
Stream Cruiser and Com.  Baskettail, and looks a little like a baskettail. 
Ski-tipped Emerald is a mid-to-late  season species found only at higher 
elevation ponds or slow streams.  Band-winged Meadowhawk would be  possible in 
more 
open wet habitat, more likely at slightly higher  elevations. 
Of course there could be others,  even new state records not yet listed. I’
m not proposing a foray as such, just a  heads-up for anyone out ode chasing 
in the area to maybe target a species or  two, make a point to visit the 
area once or twice this year. And our one county  resident member, T.H. , 
might let us know if he has any luck with these.  
Good Dragonfly  dreaming! 
Richard  Connors 
Nashville 

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End of tn-dragonflies Digest V4 #48
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[tn-dragonflies] Re: tn-dragonflies Digest V4 #48

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