Damsel in Distress

I had only an hour with some sun, so I ran to Lake Cheston. Not much doing, I thought, until I happened upon this female damselfly.

She was so loaded down with mites that she merely alit on the sandy bank and stayed and stayed and stayed there. All of a sudden, an ant attacked and tumbled her. I managed to get her away from the ant (I admit I killed the bugger), and she perched on my finger a good long while. I had the wrong lens on the camera (of course) and managed what I could by way of photos.

Because I had an appointment and then work, I finally had to leave. I perched her on a broad leaf and left, feeling, I admit, quite guilty that I could do more nothing more.

When I came home and looked at my pictures, I was puzzled. I didn't believe what I was seeing. I posted photos on the Southeastern Odes Facebook group, and Dennis Paulson (who wrote Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East, among other guides) responded, " I think that was a Vesper Bluet, Enallagma vesperum. Clearly not in the best of condition, probably because of all those mites."

Holy cow! That makes three Vespers  in less than a week. And this one is a whole different body of water!

Small consolation, though, for the damselfly, who I feel certain has been dispatched by now.

An Intentional Walk, Unintended Consequences

I went back to the Lake Dimmick area, hoping to find another Vesper Bluet. I started at the big pond, where I saw only Blue Corporals and a number of Azure Bluets. So windy and cold were the pond and shore that I lost my hat several times and finally gave up. 

I walked down to the boat launch pull-off at the lake, where "snot grass" grows. Several Facebook friends noted that the only Vesper Bluets they had seen were bodies of water with lily pads. I found what I was looking for -- one female Vesper Bluet.

And something else: a feather pile dotted with water drops, atop of which a spider dragged her egg ball.

Then, a few feet away, I noticed the bird's carcass in the water, its bill still parted its feet spread and caught in the reeds.

I don't know the species; I'll leave that to someone else. I don't know what happened; no one can. What I do know is that I left my walk feeling oddly dislocated and tired.

I found what I hoped for, and I left feeling sad.

Another Sewanee Odonate Confirmed!

Hello, Vesper Bluet (Enallagma versperum)!

When I saw the bright yellow thorax and blue final segments on the abdomen, I was puzzled. After poring over my books and Odonata Central, I thought perhaps the light was so bad and my photos so poor that I was mistaken in my initial impression of Vesper. Orange Bluet, I decided.

I posted these to my Southeastern Odes group on Facebook and asked what others thought. Their response was astonishing.

Vesper Bluet at 11:30 in the morning! That makes damselfly species number 28!