Paulson - Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West

Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West

Princeton Field Guides

Rooted in field experience and scientific study, Princetons guides to animals and plants are the authority for professional scientists and amateur naturalists alike. Princeton Field Guides present this information in a compact format carefully designed for easy use in the field. The guides illustrate every species in color and provide detailed information on identification, distribution, and biology.

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Birds of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, by Steven Latta, Christopher Rimmer, Allan Keith, James Wiley, Herbert Raffaele, Kent McFarland, and Eladio Fernandez

Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, by Terry Stevenson and John Fanshawe

Birds of Europe, by Killian Mullarney, Lars Svensson, Dan Zetterstrm, and Peter J. Grant

Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp, and Tim Inskipp

Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania: Field Guide Edition, by Dale A. Zimmerman, Donald A. Turner, and David J. Pearson

Birds of the Middle East, by R. F. Porter, S. Christensen, and P. Schiermacker-Hansen

Birds of Nepal, by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp, and Tim Inskipp

Birds of Northern India, by Richard Grimmett and Tim Inskipp

Birds of Peru, by Thomas S. Schulenberg, Douglas F. Stotz, Daniel F. Lane, John P. ONeill, and Theodore A. Parker III

Birds of the Seychelles, by Adrian Skerrett and Ian Bullock

Birds of Southeast Asia, by Craig Robson

Birds of Southern Africa, by Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey, and Warwick Tarboton

Birds of Thailand, by Craig Robson

Birds of the West Indies, by Herbert Raffaele, James Wiley, Orlando Garrido, Allan Keith, and Janis Raffaele

Birds of Western Africa, by Nik Borrow and Ron Demey

Butterflies of Europe, by Tom Tolman and Richard Lewington

Caterpillars of Eastern North America: A Guide to Identification and Natural History, by David L. Wagner

Coral Reef Fishes, by Ewald Lieske and Robert Meyers

Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West, by Dennis Paulson

Mammals of Europe, by David W. Macdonald and Priscilla Barrett

Mammals of North America, by Roland W. Kays and Don E. Wilson

Marine Mammals of the North Atlantic, by Carl Christian Kinze

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Dennis Paulson

Copyright 2009 by Princeton University Press

Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540

In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TW

All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Paulson, Dennis R.

Dragonflies and damselflies of the West / Dennis Paulson.

p. cm. (Princeton field guides)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-691-12280-9 (hardback : alk. paper)ISBN 978-0-691-12281-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. DragonfliesWest (U.S.)Identification. 2. DragonfliesCanada, WesternIdentification. 3. DamselfliesWest (U.S.)Identification. 4. DamselfliesCanada, WesternIdentification. I. Title.

QL520.2.P38 2009

595.7'330978dc22

2008030893

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data are available

This book has been composed in Myriad Pro

Printed on acid-free paper.

press.princeton.edu

Printed in China

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

In the past decade, books on dragonflies have proliferated at a rate to match the recent up-swing of interest in them. There are good technical manuals dealing with the entire fauna, and regional guides to damselflies, dragonflies, or both are appearing as fast as enthusiasts can snap them up. But there are still no comprehensive field guides to all the Odonata of North America, and this book and a companion volume to come represent an attempt to fill that gap.

The present book has two primary goals. The first is to make it possible to identify any of the 348 species of dragonflies and damselflies now known to occur in the western United States and Canada. The second is to present material about their natural history that will prompt greater interest in their lifestyles. These insects are just as special as another group of well-loved insects, the butterflies, and there is no reason they cannot become as well known. We constantly alter the natural world, with both obvious and not-so-obvious effects, and we can hope that an increased knowledge of dragonflies will help us understand this world better, in particular the ecology and condition of our wetlands.

Global warming is bringing tropical species across our borders, and they are mixing with the species already present. Natural wetlands are being filled and artificial ones created, and the forests that shelter many dragonflies are being cut down in some areas and regrown in others. Dragonflies are indicators of these changes if we understand them well enough. This is an exciting time in the study of the order Odonata, with so much amateur interest in the group and a concordant increase in our knowledge, and I hope these books will not only contribute to the enjoyment of all who choose to learn something about these fascinating animals but also add even more to what we already know about them.

I much appreciate being taken or accompanied in the field in various parts of the continent by John Abbott, Bud Anderson, Richard Bailowitz, Jim Bangma, Giff Beaton, Roy Beckemeyer, Bob Behrstock, Kathy and Dave Biggs, Sheryl Chacon, Jerrell Daigle, Doug Danforth, Marion Dobbs, Bob DuBois, Sid Dunkle, Molly Hukari, Bill Hull, Jim Johnson, Tom Langschied, Greg Lasley, Tim Manolis, Kurt Mead, David Nunnallee, Sumita Prasad, Martin Reid, Martha Reinhardt, Josh Rose, Jennifer Ryan, Jim Sinclair, Gayle and Jeanell Strickland, Mike Thomas, Idie Ulsh, Sandy Upson, Michael Veit, Tom Young, and Bill Zimmerman, all of whom shared their knowledge of odonates. Messrs. Beaton, Behrstock, Danforth, Lasley, and Upson were especially appreciated repeated guides and companions. In addition, many of the other active field workers in North America have given me valuable information about distribution, flight seasons, field identification, variation, habitat, behavior, and phylogeny of Odonata. They include John Acorn, Maria Aliberti, Allen Barlow, Sharon Brown, Paul Brunelle, Rob Cannings, Syd Cannings, Paul Catling, Glenn Corbiere, Dave Czaplak, Nick Donnelly, Cameron Eckert, Tony Gallucci, Rosser Garrison, Bruce Grimes, David Halstead, George Harp, Matt Heindel, John Hudson, Dustin Huntington, Ann Johnson, Paul Johnson, Greg Kareofelas, Ed Lam, Robert Larsen, Mike May, Mike and Barbara Moore, Alan Myrup, Wayne Nordstrom, Janis Paseka, Herschel Raney, Mike Reese, John Rintoul, Don Roberson, Larry Rosche, Tom Schultz, Judy Semroc, Fred Sibley, Bill Smith, Wayne Steffens, Ken Tennessen, June Tveekrem, Steve Valley, and Jessica Ware, and I hope I have not forgotten any of the others who belong on this list. Some of this information was taken from Odonata listserves and web sites.