By Raquel Carson
There are approximately one hundred and forty-eight species of Odonata currently recorded in Connecticut. Of them forty-nine are damselflies and ninety-nine are dragonflies. In Connecticut, the New London County has the greatest species variation with a record of 119 different species, the Middlesex County has 117, the New Haven county has 118, the Hartford county has 116, the Litchfield County has 115, the Tolland County has 102, the Windham County has 101, and the Fairfield County has 100 species.
No new species have been found since 2002. This is due to extensive collection efforts by the scientific community in the past 100 years. From all the Odonata species found in Connecticut eighteen are listed on the 2004 endangered species legislation. One is endangered, seven are threatened, and ten are of special concern. Although species variation is know across the state, little to nothing is know about their biology and ecology. Such things as rarity, breeding habits, flight time, ecology, and seasonality still remain a mystery.
Project Clear at Candlewood Lake collected a total of 61 specimens during a one- week period. Low amount of species abundance and variation is likely the result of weather. Lack of sunlight affected Odonata flight patterns, decreasing their appearance on the lake. In total four different species were collected. The most abundant species was the familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile), which appeared primarily associated with swamp dogwood. In lower abundances we also collected Eastern Forktail (Ischnura verticalis) and Dot-tail white face (Leucorrninia intacta). Only one Cobra Clubtail (Gomphus vastus) was collected. All the species collect are known to be found in high abundances throughout the Fairfield and Litchfield Counties.
