2005 Annual Meeting of The Dragonfly Society of the Americas

Right:  Another of our hosts, Colin D. Jones, giving his talk on "Conservation of Ontario's Rare Dragonflies" at the paper presentations on 9 July, 2005.

Left: Jessica Ware (Rutgers) talks about dragonfly wing venation patterns - she is looking for evidence to determine if the patterns are related to flight behavior or to taxonomic relationships.

Right: Mike May (background) and Jason Bried at Cavanaugh Quarry.  Note the difference in net sizes.  There could be a long debate devoted to the pros and cons of small, low-inertia, low-drag, flexible nets for fast, highly maneuverable swinging and large, rigid, stupendous nets with a very big rim that are slower but have more room for error.

Left: A Slaty Skimmer, Libellula incesta, perched along the shore at Beachburg Ponds near Pembroke, Ontario, , 11 July, 2005.

Right: A Calico Pennant, Celithemis elisa, also at Beachburg ponds, where dozens of tandem pairs of this species were ovipositing.

Left, a Chalk-fronted Corporal, Libellula julia, perched on vegetation along the Barron River in Algonquin National Park, 11 July, 2005.

Right: Nick Donnelly and Steve Hummel watching the incredible Ophiogomphus activity on the Petawawa River, 11 July, 2005.

Left: Texans John Abbott and Greg Lasley at Cavanaugh Quarry, 10 July 2005.  John and Greg carry "big guns" - 35 mm cameras with long lenses on tripods to capture dragonflies on film.

Right: An Ophiogomphus female perched in a small maple tree along the bank of the Petawawa River.  Females and males alike were often perching in streamside vegetation.  This female is obviously taking a break from ovipositing - note the egg mass at the tip of her abdomen.  This was a lucky shot, as I got in only one quick picture before the dragonfly flew back out over the river.  This is the tree from which I caught my first ever O. anomalus, just an hour or so after taking this photo.

Below:  The Neurocordulia watch on the Petawawa River, 11 July 2005.  This spot was blessed with smooth water that served to silhouette the Neurocordulia that began flying around by the dozens over the water at dusk.  Most of the insects flying were female N. michaeli, but a few males of that species and a few N. yamaskanensis were collected as well.  The flight came at about 2100 hours, just as the huge flight of Ophiogomphus was finishing up.  The Ophiogomphus males had been landing on our nets, shirts, hands, and heads.