Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods)

Introduction
When I began studying the Odonata in the early 1970s, only six or seven people across Canada shared my interest. Since then, and especially during the last decade, dozens and dozens of enthusiasts have taken up the challenge of studying and watching dragonflies. Biologists research the ecology, behaviour, biogeography and phylogeny of these endlessly fascinating insects; conservationists study the status and abundance of populations; naturalists watch and record the comings and goings of adults and larvae. The popularity of dragonfly study is on the rise. New and useful books and internet sites have multiplied. This brief report lists only the most important of these resources for the study of the Odonata in Canada.

The English term "dragonflies" here refers to the whole order Odonata, which, in Canada, includes the suborders Zygoptera (damselflies) and Anisoptera (dragonflies proper).

There are two international odonatological societies that publish journals and newsletters; belonging to one or both of these organizations brings the student into contact with the international odonatological community and the benefits that this conveys:

Foundation Societas Internationale Odonatologica (FSIO): four issues of the journal Odonatologica and two of the smaller Notulae odonatologicae. See http://www.afn.org/~iori/siointro.html for membership information.

The Worldwide Dragonfly Association (WDA) publishes The International Journal of Odonatology and the twice-yearly newsletter Agrion. Information: http://powell.colgate.edu/wda/dragonfly.htm.

Perhaps even more useful is membership in the Dragonfly Society of the Americas, with its Bulletin of American Odonatology and newsletter, Argia, where all sorts of information on Odonata, publications and regional field meetings is published. See http://www.afn.org/~iori/dsaintro.html. Also invaluable is a connection to the international Odonata list-serve where e-mail discussions on innumerable dragonfly topics occur. Information on joining this discussion group can be found at http://orion.ups.edu/mailman/listinfo/odonata-1.

Corbet, P.S. 1999. Dragonflies: behavior and ecology of Odonata. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York. 829 pp.
(A superb and comprehensive treatment of the biology of Odonata worldwide by the dean of odonatologists.)

Dunkle, S.W. 1989. Dragonflies of the Florida Peninsula, Bermuda and the Bahamas. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, Florida. 154 pp.
(Colour photos and descriptions of many Canadian species; good general treatment of Odonata biology and study.)

Dunkle, S.W. 1990. Damselflies of Florida, Bermuda and the Bahamas. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, Florida. 148 pp.
(Colour photos and descriptions of many Canadian species; good general treatment of Odonata biology and study.)

Dunkle, S.W. 2000. Dragonflies through binoculars: a field guide to dragonflies of North America. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 266 pp.
(Useful field guide to all North American Anisoptera; diagnostic field information, photos and distribution maps; useful for putting Canadian species in the continental context.)

Miller, P.L. 1987. Dragonflies. Naturalists’ handbooks 7. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 84 pp.
(A small British book with an excellent summary of the biology of Odonata.)

Needham, J.G., M.J. Westfall, Jr. and M.L. May. 2000. Dragonflies of North America. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, Florida. 939 pp.
(The most up-to-date treatment for the identification of all Nearctic Anisoptera; heavy on description, light on distribution, biology and ecology.)

Nikula, B. and J. Sones. 2002. Stokes beginners guide to dragonflies and damselflies. Little Brown and Co. 160 pp.
(An excellent treatment of the subject for the beginner.)

Silsby, J. 2001. Dragonflies of the world. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC. 216 pp.
(A colourful and wide-ranging overview of the biology and systematics of the world’s Odonata.)

Walker, E.M. 1912. The North American dragonflies of the genus Aeshna. University of Toronto. 213 pp.
(Out of date but a classic treatment of a large and important Canadian genus.)

Walker, E.M. 1925. The North American dragonflies of the genus Somatochlora. University of Toronto Studies (Biology) 26: 1-202.
(Out of date but a classic treatment of a large and important Canadian genus.)

Walker, E.M. 1953. The Odonata of Canada and Alaska. Volume 1. Univ. Toronto Press, Toronto. 292 pp.
(Contains introduction and Zygoptera. This and the following two volumes comprise the classic treatment of Canadian species –identification, description, distribution and biology. Although out of date, they are still indispensable for Canadian work.)

Walker, E.M. 1958. The Odonata of Canada and Alaska. Volume 2. Univ. Toronto Press, Toronto. 318 pp.
(Contains the non-libelluloid Anisoptera.)

Walker, E.M. and P.S. Corbet. 1975. The Odonata of Canada and Alaska. Volume 3. Univ. Toronto Press, Toronto. 307 pp.
(Contains the libelluloid Anisoptera.)

Westfall, M.J., Jr. and M.L. May. 1996. Damselflies of North America. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville. 649 pp.
(Companion to Needham et al. above; the most up-to-date treatment for the identification of all Nearctic Zygoptera; heavy on description, light on distribution, biology and ecology.)

Cannings, R.A. 2002. Introducing the Dragonflies of British Columbia and the Yukon. Royal British Columbia Museum. 96 pp.
(Field guide with colour photos; general distribution of Yukon species put in context of the Cordillera as a whole.)

Cannings, S.G. and R.A. Cannings. 1997. Dragonflies (Odonata) of the Yukon. Pp. 169-200 in H.V. Danks and J.A. Downes (Eds.), Insects of the Yukon. Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods). Ottawa. 1034 pp.
(Yukon fauna in a biogeographical light.)

Cannings, S.G., R.A. Cannings and R.J. Cannings. 1991. Distribution of the dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) of the Yukon Territory, Canada, with notes on ecology and behaviour. Contributions to Natural Science, Royal British Columbia Museum 13: 1-27.
(Detailed distribution, including maps for each species).

Cannings, R.A. 2002. Introducing the Dragonflies of British Columbia and the Yukon. Royal British Columbia Museum. 96 pp.
(Field guide with colour photos; general distribution of BC species put in context of Cordillera as a whole.)

Cannings, R.A. and K.M. Stuart. 1977. The dragonflies of British Columbia. British Columbia Provincial Museum Handbook No. 35. 254 pp.
(Somewhat out of date with respect to distribution and status, but useful still; detailed descriptions and identification keys to adults and larvae.)

Walker, E.M. 1927. The Odonata of the Canadian Cordillera. British Columbia Museum of Natural History. 16 pp.
(Early treatment of western odonatology by the master.)

Whitehouse, F.C. 1941. British Columbia dragonflies (Odonata), with notes on distribution and habits. American Midland Naturalist 26: 488-557.
(Classic biological writing of strong historical interest.)

John Acorn has a manuscript on the damselflies of Alberta that is awaiting publication. Look for it before long, we hope!

Whitehouse, F.C. 1918. Dragonflies (Odonata) of Alberta. Alberta Natural History Society, Red Deer. 18 pp.

Duncan, J.R. 1999. Manitoba dragonfly survey citizen’s monitoring guide. Wildlife Branch, Department of Natural Resources, Winnipeg, Manitoba. 34 pp.

Carmichael, I., A. MacKenzie and B. Steinberg. 2002. Photo Field Guide to the Dragonflies and damselflies of southwestern Ontario. The Friends of Pinery Park, Grand Bend, Ontario. 72 pp.
(Effective little guide to the Odonata of the richly diverse southwestern corner of Ontario).

Catling, P.M. and V.R. Brownell. 1997. Damselflies (Zygoptera) in Ontario from 1900 to 1952: an atlas of E.M. Walker’s distributional data for monitoring, and biodiversity and biogeography studies. Metcalfe, Ontario, Canada. 53 pp.
(Distributional maps of E.M. Walker’s extensive damselfly records)

Catling, P.M. and V.R. Brownell. 2000. Damselflies and dragonflies (Odonata) of Ontario: resource guide and annotated list. ProResources, 2326 Scrivens Drive, Metcalfe, Ontario, Canada. 200 pp.
(Extremely useful compendium of information on Ontario Odonata and its study, including distribution maps, habitat preferences and status of the 168 species recorded to 1999.)

Catling, P.M., C.D. Jones and P.D. Pratt (eds.). 2000. Ontario Odonata Volume 1 (including 1999 observations). Toronto Entomologists’ Association, Toronto, Ontario. 153 pp.
(Ontario Odonata publishes observations and the results of dragonfly projects throughout the province. The three issues noted here, along with future ones, are invaluable aids to the study of dragonflies in Ontario).

Catling, P.M., C.D. Jones and P.D. Pratt (eds.). 2001. Ontario Odonata Volume 2 (including observations for the year 2000). Toronto Entomologists’ Association, Toronto, Ontario. 186 pp.

Catling, P.M., C.D. Jones and P.D. Pratt (eds.). 2002. Ontario Odonata Volume 3 (including observations for the year 2001). Toronto Entomologists’ Association, Toronto, Ontario. 208 pp.

Holder, M. 1996. The dragonflies and damselflies of Algonquin Park. Algonquin Park Technical Bulletin No. 11. Friends of Algonquin Park, Whitney, Ontario. 40 pp.
(A fine booklet on some of the odonate fauna of this famous northern park).

(Holder, along with Colin Jones, Peter Burke and Andrea Kingsley are working on a full field guide to the dragonflies and damselflies of Algonquin Park. Watch for it soon!)

 

Ménard, B. 1996. Liste annotée des Odonates de la valleé de l’Outaouais. Fabreries 21(2): 29-64.

Pilon, J.-G. and D. Laglace. 1998. Les Odonates du Québec. Entomofaune du Québec Inc. Chicoutimi, Québec. 367 pp. (Identification and distribution.)

Robert, A. 1963. Les Libellules du Québec. Service de la Faune du Québec, Bulletin No. 1. 223 pp.

Two journals provide much information on Quebec odonatology:

Cordulia: Jan 1975 - Dec 1980 (plus 11 supplements 1976 - 1979). Privately published by A. Larochelle and R. Hutchinson at College Bourget, Rigaud.

Fabreries: Jan 1975 – present. Association for Amateur Entomologists of Quebec: AEAQ Inc., 302 GabrielleRoy, Varennes, Quebec J3X 1L8.

Brunelle, P.M. 1997. Distribution of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) of the Atlantic Provinces, Canada. Northeastern Naturalist 4: 61-82.

Brunelle, P.M. 1999. Additions to the lists of dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera) of the Atlantic Provinces, Canada. Northeastern Naturalist 6: 35-38.

Brunelle, P.M. 2000. Distribution of damselflies and dragonflies (Odonata) of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Parks Canada – Technical reports in ecosystem science; no. 24. Iv + 52 pp.

Brunelle, P.M. 1999. Distribution of damselflies and dragonflies (Odonata) of Maine, United States. Northeastern Naturalist 6: 95-118.

Carpenter, V. 1991. Dragonflies and damselflies of Cape Cod. Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, Natural History Series No. 4. 79 pp.

Curry, J.R. 2001. Dragonflies of Indiana. Indiana Academy of Sciences, Indianapolis, Indiana. 303 pp.
(Guide to the adult Anisoptera of Indiana, with colour photographs and distribution maps.)

Donnelly, T.W. 1992. The Odonata of New York State. Bulletin of American Odonatology 1 (1): 1-27.

Glotzhober, R.C. and D. McShaffrey (editors). 2002. The dragonflies and damselflies of Ohio. Ohio Biological Survey Bulletin, new series 14(2).

Legler, K, Legler, D and D. Westover. 1998. A color guide to common dragonflies of Wisconsin. 64 pp.

Manolis, T. 2003. Dragonflies and damselflies of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. 201 pp.

Mead, K. 2003. Dragonflies of the north woods. Kollath-Stensaas Publishing. 203 pp.

O’Brien, M. (ed.) 1997. Michigan Odonata Survey Collector’s Handbook. Ann Arbor, MI. 78 pp.

Paulson, D.R. 1997. The dragonflies of Washington. Bulletin of American Odonatology 4(4): 75-90.

Paulson, D.R. 1999. Dragonflies of Washington. Seattle Audubon Society, Seattle, WA. 32 pp.

Nikula, B., J.L. Loose and M.R. Burne. 2003. A field guide to the dragonflies and damselflies of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Natural Heritage Program, Westborough, MA. 196 pp.

Rosche, L. 2002. Dragonflies and damselflies of Northeast Ohio. Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH. 94 pp.

 

Cannings, S.G. and R.A. Cannings 1994. The Odonata of the northern cordilleran peatlands of North America. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada 169: 89-110.

Hilton, D.F.J. 1987. Aquatic insects of peatlands and marshes in Canada. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada 140: 57-63.

Bridges, C.A. 1991. Catalogue of the family-group, genus-group and species-group names of the Odonata of the world. C.A. Bridges, Urbana, Illinois. 479 pp.

Davies, D.A.L. and P. Tobin. 1984. The dragonflies of the world: a systematic list of the extant species of Odonata. Volume 1 Zygoptera, Anisozygoptera. Societas Internationalis Odonatologica Rapid Communications (Supplements) 3. 127 pp.

Garrison, R.W. 1991. A synonymic list of the New World Odonata. Argia 3(2): 1-30.

Paulson, D.R. and S.W. Dunkle. 1999. A checklist of North American Odonata, including English name, etymology, type locality and distribution. Slater Museum of Natural History Occasional Paper No. 56. University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA.

There is a huge amount of information available on the Internet. The best site to locate most of this is: Oregon Dragonfly and Damselfly Survey

http://www.ent.orst.edu/ore_dfly/links.html.
(The site is invaluable — it gives links to more odonatological sites than any other single web page. Use this site to search for any topic. A few other useful sites are listed below in various categories. Note this is only a small selection.)

International Odonata Research Institute.
http://www.afn.org/~iori/
(The site of the International Odonata Research Institute, Gainesville, FL. A comprehensive compendium of news, events, information requests, e-mail directories, books, odonatological supplies and links to many other sites.)

Tillyard, R.J. 1917. The biology of dragonflies.
This Cambridge University Press classic is still essential reading for serious students. A preliminary web version is at http://www.jcu.edu.au/school/tbiol/zoology/auxillry/odonata/tillyar1.htm

Cannings, R.A., S.G. Cannings and L. Ramsay. 2000. The dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) of the Columbia Basin, British Columbia: field surveys, collections development and public education. Royal B.C. Museum and British Columbia Conservation Data Centre, Victoria.
http://www.livingbasin.com/cbasin/www_dragon/toc.html

Robert A. Cannings and Cannings, Sydney G. 1998. Odonata (Damselflies and Dragonflies) in Smith, I.M., and G.G.E. Scudder, eds. Assessment of species diversity in the Montane Cordillera Ecozone. Burlington: Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network, 1998.
http://www.naturewatch.ca/eman/reports/publications/99_montane/odonata/intro.html

Cannings, Robert A. The Blue Darners: dragonflies of the genus Aeshna in British Columbia.
http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/nh_papers/aeshna.html

Pratt, P.D. 1999. Regional lists of Ontario Odonata (Grey, Bruce, Huron, Middlesex, Elgin, Lambton, Kent, Essex counties).
http://www.wincom.net/~prairie/odonata.html

Ojibway Nature Centre, Windsor. Damselflies and dragonflies of the Ojibway Prairie complex.
http://www.ojibway.ca/odonata.htm
(Paul Pratt’s fine outline of the Odonata of this rich site in SW Ontario.)

Sankey, J. 1999. A guide to the adult damselflies and dragonflies of the Ottawa district.
On the Internet at http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~bf250/odonata.html

Dragonflies of Nova Scotia, by Paul-Michael Brunelle

http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/WILDLIFE/conserva/16-01-10.htm

http://lakes.chebucto.org/ZOOBENTH/BENTHOS/iv.html

 

Robert A. Cannings and Cannings, Sydney G. 1998. Odonata (Damselflies and Dragonflies) in Smith, I.M., and G.G.E. Scudder, eds. Assessment of species diversity in the Montane Cordillera Ecozone. Burlington: Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network, 1998.
http://www.naturewatch.ca/eman/reports/publications/99_montane/odonata/intro.html

Catling, P.M., R. Hutchinson and B. Ménard. 1998. Assessment of species diversity in the Mixed Plains ecozone. Dragonflies and damselflies.
http://www.naturewatch.ca/Mixedwood/odonata/intro.html

http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/AlaskaOD.html (species list)

http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/AKdragonkey.html (field key)

http://www.sonic.net/dragonfly/

http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/bio/insects/insefr.htm

http://www.museum.state.il.us/research/entomology/od_db.html

http://www.museum.state.il.us/research/entomology/od_outofstate.html

http://MDDS.umf.maine.edu/~odonata/index.html

http://www.odenews.net
(Odenews is an excellent newsletter (also available in paper) about Odonata in southern New England. The site also has links to other important material.)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gl_odonata
(sharing information on the Odonata of the Great Lakes region; sponsored by the Michigan Odonata Survey.)

http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/michodo/mos.html 
(The Michigan Odonata Survey)

http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fauna/MIODONAT.HTML 
(A Checklist of Odonata found in Michigan.)

http://www.chaparraltree.com/mn/dragonflies.shtml

http://www.ohioodonata.com/

http://mcnet.marietta.edu/~odonata/ 
(The Ohio Odonata Society)

http://www.ent.orst.edu/ore_dfly/

http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/WashOD.html

http://www.windsofkansas.com/odbib.html

Conservation
Check the web sites of the various provincial Conservation Data Centres or Natural Heritage Information Centres. Go to these via the home page at http://www.natureserve.org/visitLocal/index.jsp. Provinces post conservation ranking lists. Some Centres, such as Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and the Atlantic Provinces, have databases for Odonata records (see Collections and Databases below).

Ideas on how to build and maintain dragonfly ponds and other habitats are found at

http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk/mhd4.htm

and

http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk/dap3.htm

Equipment and supplies
http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/entostuff.html

Collecting and preservation techniques
http://www.afn.org/~iori/morse2.html
http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/ODcollecting.html

http://www.afn.org/~iori/oincolgl.html

There are many sources of distributional information. Check with provincial Natural Heritage Information Centres (Conservation Data Centres) and museums.

Distribution maps of western North American species by US county.
http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/westernOD.html

Distribution of North American Zygoptera by state and province.
http://www.afn.org/~iori/zyglist.html. 
(Based on Westfall and May (1996) with additions linked to sources.)

Distribution of North American Anisoptera by state and province.
http://www.afn.org/~iori/nalist.html. 
(Based on Needham, Westfall and May (2000) with additions linked to sources.)

Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) of the United States. United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center.
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/2000/dfly/DFLYUSA.htm.
(US distribution maps, but not complete or current.)

http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/ODglossary.html

Photographs and scanned images are everywhere on the Internet; here are a few:

http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/WAODphotos.html
(Live scans of western North American species.)

http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/ODphotos.html

http://www.sonic.net/dragonfly/

http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/Images/Odonata/Odo_picts.html

http://www.odenews.net/images.htm

http://www.afn.org/~iori/oinforum.html

Bechly, G.H.P. 1998. Phylogenetic systematics of Odonata: phylogenetic classification of fossil and extant Odonata.
http://www.bechly.de/phylosys.htm

Societies and People

http://www.afn.org/~iori/oinemail.html  
(Email addresses of odonatologists by country.)

http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/NAdragons.html
(North American list with common names sponsored by Dragonfly Society of the Americas.)

http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/NWOLAug2000.html
(R. Garrison. New World list.)

http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/worldodonates.html
(Schorr, M., M. Lindeboom and D.R. Paulson. List of Odonata of the world.)

http://www.afn.org/~iori/oinlist.html
(Links to many lists – world species, continents, regional.)

 

Specimen collections are valuable for confirming identifications and occurrence data and for supplying material for systematic studies. Some collections have their material databased. The main Canadian collections containing Odonata are listed below. Private collections are not included. The main databases residing outside collections are also included.

Royal British Columbia Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria, BC V8W 9W2.

Spencer Entomological Museum, Department of Zoology, University of BC, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4.

Alberta:

Strickland Entomological Museum, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3.

Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre, 2^nd Floor, Oxbridge Place, 9820-106 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2J6 (database of species considered to be of conservation concern).

Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Wascana Park, Regina, SK S4P 3A2

Manitoba:

Entomology Department, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2.

Manitoba Conservation Data Centre, Box 24, 200 Saulteaux Crescent, Winnipeg, MB R3J 3W3 (database)

Canadian National Collection of Insects, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6

Department of Entomology, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON M5S 2C6.

Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1.

Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Box 7000, 300 Water St., Peterborough, ON K9J 8M5.

Department of Zoology Collection, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7

Algonquin Provincial Park Visitor Centre, Onatrio Mistry of Natural resources, Box 219, Whitney, ON K0J 2M0

The Ontario Odonata database is housed and maintained at the Natural Heritage Information Centre (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Box 7000, 300 Water St., Peterborough, ON K9J 8M5). It currently contains over 35,000 georeferenced records. It is not a fully public database. Access is currently limited to major contributors and partners, as well as on a project-to-project, need-to-know basis for conservation related work.

Département des sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, CP 6128, Succ. A, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7.

Natural History Museum, Bishop’s University, Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7.

The largest PEI collection is in the New Brunswick Museum (see below).

New Brunswick Museum, 277 Douglas Ave, St. John, NB E2K 2E5.

Nova Scotia Museum, 1747 Summer St., Halifax, NS B3H 3J5.

Biology Department, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s NF A1C 5S7.

Atlantic Provinces Database:

The Atlantic Dragonfly Inventory Program (ADIP) database currently holds more than 16,000 records from the Atlantic Provinces and an additional 25,000 records from northern New England (principally Maine).
Contact Paul-Michael Brunelle, 6044-1 Compton Ave., Halifax NS B3K 1E7.

The Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre (17 Waterfowl Lane, PO Box 6227 Sackville, NB, E4L 1G6) holds all data from the
Atlantic Provinces as of 2001.

I thank Colin Jones and Paul Brunelle for their constructive comments.

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