Dragonflies and Damselflies of San Franscisco Bay Area
Widow Skimmer - Libellula luctuosa |
Flame Skimmer - Libellula saturata |
Variegated Meadowhawk - Sympetrum corruptum |
Common Whitetail (female) - Plathemis lydia |
Vivid Dancer - Argia vivida |
Sooty Dancer (female) - Argia lugens |
Odonata refers to the insect group (Order) which includes all species of Dragonflies and Damselflies. There are over 28 species of dragonflies in the Bay Area.
Some Common Dragonfly Species
- Widow Skimmer - Libellula luctuosa
- Flame Skimmer - Libellula saturata
- Common Whitetail - Plathemis lydia
- Blue Dasher - Pachydiplax longipennis
- Western Pondhawk - Erythemis simplicollis collocata
- Variegated Meadowhawk - Sympetrum corruptum
- Blue-eyed Darner - Rhionaeschna multicolor
- California Darner - Rhionaeschna californica
- Common Green Darner - Anax junius
- Black Saddlebags - Tramea lacerata
Some Common Damselfly Species
- Vivid Dancer - Argia vivida
- Sooty Dancer - Argia lugens
- Pacific Forktail - Ischnura cervula
Checklists
- An Online guide to the Odonata of California by Kathy Biggs is the best reference for identification.
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- An illustrated checklist of the Damselflies & Dragonflies of Monterey County by Don Roberson will help with many Bay Area species. He includes photographs and notes.
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- Tri-fold, printable PDF checklist of California Dragonflies
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Some more informal lists:
- 12 common dragonflies of the Bay area with photographs by Rich Stallcup of Point Reyes Bird Observatory
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- Dragonflies And Damselflies at Mount Diablo State Park - A Preliminary Survey by Douglas Vaughan, May 2003 - May 2004.
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- Odonates of Skyline Open Space Preserve - a list by Alvaro Jaramillo, as of 2003.
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Media
- A selection of useful reference books can be found here - Dragonfly Books ...more
- Sharp, nice photographs of local odonates posted by members of our Flickr group
dragonflies and
damselflies
- odophile.com is a website dedicated to dragonflies and damselflies of the South Bay. It has some beautiful photographs. Much information is still being filled in.
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- Great photographs of California odonates by John Sterling.
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Dragonflies and Damselflies Articles and Links
- Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay Area (a very incomplete list) - a list of 10 common butterflies with pictures.
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Resources
- CalOdes - Yahoo discussion group - members post local sightings and can help with identification
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- Places to find odonates in the Bay area by Don Roberson with mention of 3 Bay area specialities.
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