2002 Annual Meeting of The Dragonfly Society of the Americas - Page 5

Right - Celithemis elisa, the Calico Pennant, arguably the prettiest of the pennants.  This great libellulid (skimmer) was flying with Ladona julia, Ladona deplanata, Libellula incesta, (Chalk-fronted Corporal, Blue Corporal, Slaty Skimmer) and other dragonflies at Sherwood Lake, during the DSA West VIrginia meeting.

Left - The Greenbrier River upstream of the Hwy 3 bridge at Alderson, West Virginia.  The pretty riffle shown here was home to Ophiogomphus rupinsulensis (Rusty Snaketail).  Other dragonflies found on this stretch of river included Gomphus vastus, Macromia illinoiensis, and Stylogomphus albistylus (Cobra Clubtail, Illinois River Cruiser, Least Clubtail).  The person seen far upstream in the photo is Don Miller from Connecticut.

Right - Ophiogomphus rupinsulensis (Rusty Snaketail) from the Greenbrier site shown above.  I was particularly happy to collect and scan this specimen, as I had earlier been able to collect and scan its close cousin, Ophiogomphus westfalli (Westfall's Snaketail), while in Missouri with Jane Walker, Joe Smentowski, and Nick and Ailsa Donnelly a few days before the West Virginia meeting.

Left - Ophiogomphus westfalli (Westfall's Snaketail), a species that is similar to O. rupinsulensis (Rusty Snaketail), and which is found west of the Mississippi River in Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas.

Another species group in which there are differences in the typical eastern species and the insect occurring in the Kansas-Missouri-Arkansas area is Stylogomphus albistylus (Least Clubtail).  Although both insects are currently called by the same name, Carl Cook is in the process of studying the two forms and the western one may acquire a new name.  Right is the eastern version, from the Greenbrier River in West Virginia, and left below the western form, from the Bourbeuse River in Missouri.

Right - a female of the quite lovely calopterygid (braod-winged damsel), Calopteryx amata (Superb Jewelwing), flying in numbers on Shaver's Fork.  Below left is the male.

Link Here for Page 6 of the 2002 DSA Meeting

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