Maine Damselfly and Dragonfly Survey

New Census of Featherless Fliers

by  Kate McKenney

Citizen scientists, volunteers, and naturalists throughout New England are adjusting their binoculars and bringing into focus winged figures different from the typical avian sort. Colorful butterflies and vibrant dragonflies and damselflies (odonates), glinting over meadows and waterways, are being chased with nets and binoculars in order to collect valuable information. These invertebrates are indicators of environmental health; changes in the abundance and type of butterflies and odonates in New England give researchers clues about the effects of changing land use practices, urban development, and global climate change.

Surveying efforts in New England began in Massachusetts in 1986 with the Massachusetts Butterfly Atlas Project. Maine began the first state-sponsored dragonfly and damselfly survey in 1998, and two more surveys are now underway in Vermont and Rhode Island . These are designed to determine the distribution and relative abundance of butterflies and odonates, while also complementing the atlases completed in the region.

Maine ’s Damselfly and Dragonfly Survey followed on the heels of two similar atlasing projects, one for breeding birds, and the other for amphibians and reptiles. Administered by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the survey is in the last year of a five-year Outdoor Heritage Fund grant. It is also supported by revenue from Maine ’s Conservation License Plate initiative.  

Because of Maine ’s large size, extensive virgin wetlands, and mix of boreal and coastal habitats, an impressive number of odonate species have been found. At last count, 163 species have been documented, or 37 percent of all the dragonfly and damselfly species in North America . Information on the ecology of these odonates is increasingly sought by forest, hydroelectric, and municipal professionals for the purpose of permitting and relicensing projects. Scientists and community members are also showing a heightened level of interest in these types of surveys.  

Maine ’s survey has turned up an impressive collection of rare pond damselflies, including the internationally unique New England bluet, the scarlet bluet, and the pine barrens bluet. These three species are all unique to Maine ’s northeastern coastal plain, a region of high biodiversity value. The scarlet bluet and another notable find, the Quebec emerald, are both considered to be globally rare, and have priority conservation status in Maine . Researchers may enjoy a project extension if they are successful in securing a second grant, this time from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Presently, the survey is scheduled to end by the winter of 2003-2004, though completion of the Maine Dragonfly Atlas, a product of the survey, will not be complete until later in 2004.  

The Vermont Butterfly Survey, administered by the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS), has just completed a first season of fieldwork using 130 volunteers who conducted 500 site visits across the state. Volunteers collect information on distribution, relative abundance, flight times and preferred plant and habitat types so that land-use planners, municipalities, and landowners can make informed decisions about development in Vermont .

 Not only does the survey provide integral conservation planning information, it also documents the appearance of many unexpected butterflies. Highlighted species include the variegated fritillary, the American snout, and the fiery skipper, all rare in Vermont . According to VINS, most notable were the infrequent sightings of Vermont ’s three Vanessa species, the American lady, the painted lady, and the red admiral. The survey has four more years of work ahead.

 In 1998, a couple hundred miles to the south, Rhode Island began a five-year comprehensive survey of its odonate populations. Administered by the Rhode Island Natural History Survey and The Nature Conservancy, with the help of 40 volunteers, it aims to identify and protect biodiversity hotspots in the state using odonates as the indicator species.

Even though Rhode Island has fewer odonate habitats than other New England states, 19 new resident species were found during the course of the summer, increasing the total number to 133.  Some of the highlighted species were the coppery emerald, the southern sprite and the blackwater bluet, all typically southern species. These are rarely or never found in the rest of New England , and Rhode Island appears to be the only New England state perpetuating viable populations. Collection of rare species has laid the foundation for a great deal of conservation work throughout Rhode Island , said Virginia Brown, the coordinator of the survey. The Rhode Island survey has been extended for another year in order to fill gaps in the data, and is seeking more volunteer surveyors.

Here is the contact information if you are interested in volunteering:

Maine : Phillip DeMaynadier (207) 941-4239 or email phillip.demaynadier@state.vt.us. Vermont : Kent McFarland (802) 457-2779 Ext. 124 or email vbs@vinsweb.org

Rhode Island : Virginia Brown (401) 874-5817 or Todd McLeish at (401) 874-7892

This article originally apeared in the Spring 2003 issue of Northern

Northern Woodlands magazine (http://www.northernwoodlands.org).

 Return to MDDS Main Menu