The title of this page should be interpreted loosely, to include
damselflies and the surrounding area of Utopia, such as
Lost Maples and Garner State Park, which is also the
the area this website covers for birds and butterflies.
Flame Skimmer - 1st Uvalde Co. record on my car antenna!
Here I will list what I've seen around the area, or
what others have reported to me. There are lists
for the counties at the great Odonata Central website.
BUT they (like the county butterfly lists at the
USGS site) are incomplete. It seems they include
only those species documented from collected specimens
in museums, known collections by known collectors, and
those documented by photographs. For both Odonata
(Odes for short - dragons and damsels) and Lepidoptera
(butterflies and moths), there are far too many common
species NOT on the lists. In some cases I have seen
dozens of, and others a hundred or more, of a species
not on the lists. Keep this in mind if you use them
as your reference point. And keep camera handy!
Don't get me wrong, its a great website and list,
but it should state that any idiot with a book can
come to the county and add new species, for counties
that have been little worked like e.g. Bandera Co.,
probably as simply as checking radiators and grills!
Band-winged Dragonlet - first Bandera County Record
The Ode Central website lists 52 species of Dragons
and Damsels from Bandera County, and 66 from Uvalde Co..
The up side to this is that there is a great contribution
one can make studying them locally. Getting photographs
is something anyone can do, even if you don't have a
net to catch and collect them, you can still document
them! And that is important work my friends!
You will likely see only Green Darner or Variegated
Meadowhawk from December through February, and will
therefore need some other hobby then. In March
the first of other species barely start to get going.
April is when it really starts to break loose, and
November is the last hurrah, but probably a very good
time for southern or coastal vagrants.
Anyway, here's what I've got so far. Much of this
is from my yard where the nearest water is about a
three quarters of a mile away as the ode flys. Most of
the rest is either from the Little Creek area, Utopia Park,
and a little from Lost Maples State Natural Area.
About 14 of the dragons represent first county sightings.
Comanche Skimmer
There are some codes after the names to further
denote the status. Y - in my yard; N3 - seen in
11/03; A4 - seen 4/04; M4 - seen in 5/04; LM - Lost Maples
(not yet recorded within 5 miles of Utopia); U - within
5 miles of Utopia (usually Utopia Pk. or S.Little
Creek area). P - Photographed; NCR - New (or) NO
County Record listed for Bandera Co..
*hypo - means hypothetical: 99.99% sure of ID
Only used to be extremely cautious, as I had
no doubt that's what they were. Multiple individuals
were seen multiple times. Many things I could not
ID are just left to get away for a day when I
have more knowledge - particularly with damsels.
Checkered Setwing
Gomphid sps. (Plains Clubtail?)
DRAGONFLIES - Anisoptera
Green Darner - Anax junius - Y;N3;A4;
Giant Darner - Anax walsinghami - LM 10/04;NCR; seen for 5 min.
Springtime Darner - Basiaeschna janata - Y;A4;P
Dragonhunter - Hagenius brevistylus - LM; A4
Eastern Ringtail - Erpetogomphus designatus - U;A4
Clubtail sps. - Gomphid sps. - Y;N3;A4
(a couple different un-ID'd Gomphids have been seen)
Leaftail sps. (4 & 5 Striped)(prob.both) - Phyllogomphoides sps. - Y;N3;
Forceptail sps. - Aphylla sps. - seen at Ft.Inge, Uv.Co.
Russet-tipped Clubtail - Stylurus plagiatus - Y;LM;
Jade Clubtail - Arigomphus submedianus - LM, LC, Y, P
Black-shouldered Spinyleg - Dromogomphus spinosus - U;M4;P
Bronzed River Cruiser - Macromia annulata - U;N3;A4;NCR;Y
*hypo Illinois River Cruiser - Macromia illinoiensis - U;
Prince Baskettail - Epitheca princeps - Y;U;N3;M4
Dot-winged Baskettail - Epitheca petechialis - Y;U:N3;A4;P
Orange Shadowdragon - Neurocordulia xanthosoma - Y;N3;NCR;M4
Common Whitetail - Libellula lydia - Y;U;LM;A4;P
Widow Skimmer - Libellula luctuosa - Y;U;LM;M4;P
Twelve-spotted Skimmer - Libellula pulchella - Y;NCR;SLC;
Flame Skimmer - Libellula saturata - Y-N3;LM-A4;NCR
Neon Skimmer - Libellula croceipennis - Y;N3
Roseate Skimmer - Orthemis ferruginea - Y;A4;P
*hypo Carmine Skimmer - Orthemis discolor - LM;
(M.Reid had it at Lost Maples 9/04 for NCR)
Comanche Skimmer - Libellula comanche - U;M4;P
Red Rock Skimmer - Paltothemis lineatipes - Y (!)& LM,NCR;P
Filigree Skimmer - Psuedoleon superbus - Uv.Co. @ Nueces Riv. nearest yet
Variegated Meadowhawk - Sympetrum corruptum - Y;N3;A4;NCR;P
Autumnal (Yellow-legged) Meadowhawk - Sympetrum vicinum - Y;U;N3;P
Band-winged Dragonlet - Erythrodiplax umbrata - Y;U;A4;NCR;P
*hypo Black-winged Dragonlet - Erythrodiplax funerea -
(seen closely well at Nueces Riv. in Uv.Co.)
Eastern Amberwing - Perithemis tenera - U;SLC;
Blue Dasher - Pachydiplax longipennis - Y;U;A4;NCR
Common (Eastern) Pondhawk - Erythemis simplicicollis - Y;U;A4;P
Great Pondhawk - Erythemis vesiculosa - Y;N3;A4;NCR;
Wandering Glider - Pantala flavescens - Y;N3;U;A4;NCR
Spot-winged Glider - Pantala hymenaea - Y;N3
Black Saddlebags - Tramea lacerata - Y;N3;A4;P
Red Saddlebags - Tramea onusta - Y;N3;A4;P
*hypo Carolina Saddlebags - Tramea carolina - Y;U;N3;M4
*hypo Aztec Glider - Tauriphila azteca - Y;N3;NCR
*hypo Hyacynth Glider - Miathyria marcella - Y;N3;NCR
(spec. and photos from Uv.Co. at Ft. Inge & in Uvalde.)
Checkered Setwing - Dythemis fugax - U;A4;Y;P
Swift Setwing - Dythemis velox - Y;U;N3;P
Black Setwing - Dythemis nigrescens - Y;U;P;
Red-tailed Pennant - Brachymesia furcata - Y;N3 & M4;NCR
Four-spotted Pennant - Brachymesia gravida - Y; SLC;NCR
Halloween Pennant - Celithemis eponina - Y;SLC;NCR
Marl Pennant - Macrodiplax balteata - Y (!) in Oct.; NCR; Sept. @ Ft.Clk.Spr.
Pale-faced Clubskimmer - Brechmorhoga mendax - Y;N3;A4;LM;P
Thornbush Dasher - Micrathyria hagenii - U;Y;P
Ivory-striped Sylph - Macrothemis imitans - Y;
(photos in Uv.Co. on Sabinal & Nueces Rivers)
44+ sps. + 5 hypothetical (probables) April-Sept in Utopia area.
Surely a highly experienced observer would have over 55 sps..
Only 2 sps. are from off plateau, and not from Sab.Riv.Valley yet.
All but 6 of the 44 positives, I have seen in the yard.
That means 38 species of Dragons in dry yard, in less than a year.
DAMSELFLIES - Zygoptera
Argia cuprea - Coppery Dancer
Argia translata - Dusky Dancer
American Rubyspot - Hetaerina americana - Y:U;N3;A4;P
Smoky Rubyspot - Hetaerina titia - Y;U;N3;P
Great Spreadwing - Archilestes grandis - Y;U;P
Plateau Spreadwing - Lestes alacer - U;A4;P
Orange-striped Threadtail - Protoneura cara - U;LM;P
Kiowa Dancer - Argia immunda - U;Y;P
Variable Dancer - Argia fumipennis violacea - LM;A4;Y;P
Powdered Dancer - Argia moesta - LM;Y;A4;P
Aztec Dancer - Argia nahuana - Y;LM;A4;P
Coppery Dancer - Argia cuprea - Y;U;N3;P
Dusky Dancer - Argia translata - Y; P;
Blue-fronted Dancer - Argia - Y;P
Blue-ringed Dancer - Argia sedula - U;N3;Y;A4;P
Double-striped Bluet - Enallagma basidens - LM;Y;U;A4
Familiar Bluet - Enallagma civile - Y;U;A4;P
Neotropical Bluet - Enallagma novaehispaniae - U;A4
Orange Bluet - Enallagma signatum - LM
Citrine Forktail - Ischnura hastata - Y;U;A4
Fragile Forktail - Ischnura posita - U;A4;NCR
Rambur's Forktail - Ischnura ramburii - U;P
Desert Firetail - Telebasis salva - U;N3;P
21 sps. Damsels identified around Utopia April-Oct., and
probably 25-30 species were seen! Several additions will
be made (ID'd) when photos are critically examined
At least 13 species were seen in the yard (+ unID'd pix)
So, with 44 Dragons, and 21 Damsels, we have 65 species
of Odes seen nearby, 63 sps. in the Sabinal River Valley, in
less than a year. One could probably find 40-50 sps. in
a single day in the "prime-time" of late summer, on a
good day with a few folks who knew what they were looking
at scouring the area! Dare I say it, a Dragon count!?!
For the yard, we have 38 Dragons (plus hypos) and
13 Damsels (plus yet to be ID'd photos) which totals
a minimum of 51 sps. of Odes, from a dry SW Bandera Co.
yard in a year. That is about the entire prior known
list of odes for the entire county, in 2 dry acres!
Clearly there is much we don't know about what occurs here!
*note several of the damsels were captured, photo'd,
and ID'd by Tony Gallucci when we went odeing here.
Besides him, I am grateful to Greg Lasley, Dennis Paulson,
Nick Block, and Tom Langscheid, and Dr. John Abbott, whom
have all generously offered usually much needed identification
advice. I am grateful and thank you all! Any and all errors
of the fault of the author (me), not them!
Citrine Forktail
Spreadwing sp.
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