Dragons & Damsels Walk

Sunny and hot weather greeted this year’s dragonfly and damselfly hunters on two consecutive Wednesdays at Owen Park in Swannanoa.  Despite a number of late cancellations, we still had 18 members total participating across both days.  The July 21st group observed 11 species of damselflies, 8 species of dragonflies, and 8 butterfly species.  The July 28th group managed 11 of each, including 7 dragonfly and 5 butterfly species not seen a week earlier. 

Here is a list of species observed on July 21st:

Damsels – 11
Ebony Jewelwing
Swamp Spreadwing 
Southern Spreadwing
Blue-fronted Dancer
Blue-tipped Dancer
Variable Dancer
Powdered Dancer
Slender Bluet
Stream Bluet
Fragile Forktail
Eastern Forktail

Dragons – 8
Prince Baskettail
Halloween Pennant
Banded Pennant
Eastern Pondhawk
Blue Dasher
Eastern Amberwing
Widow Skimmer
Slaty Skimmer

Butterflies – 8
Tiger Swallowtail
Cabbage White
Summer Azure
Eastern tailed blue
Silver-spotted Skipper
Least SkipperPearl
Crescent Sachem

In addition to these, the group spotted an unusual arachnid – the Red-backed Jumping Spider.  Vin submitted the photos and has confirmed that this as a first for Buncombe County!

Here are some photos from the July 21st walk taken by our own Jim Poling