Big Swamp Survey

Having surveyed a small swamp earlier in the morning I decided to also survey the nearby Big Swamp (so named) in a similar, repeatable manner. This was mainly for Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), particularly for the generally rare Ancient Greenling (Hemiphlebia mirabilis). This swamp is ephemeral and dries out over summer most seasons (apart from the artificially deepened dam). It is also significant as the only known breeding site for the Common Glider (Tramea loewii) dragonfly in Victoria as I observed one emerging there ten years ago.

The temperature was about 20°C–22°C with light to moderate wind gusts and sunny. Water depth was generally to about 10cm but deeper around the area of the dam in the east where I started. I bisected the swamp roughly in an east–west direction across about 300m of the swamp and recorded all insects I disturbed:

  • 41 Ancient Greenling (Hemiphlebia mirabilis)
  • 14 Slender Ringtail (Austrolestes analis)
  • 5 Wandering Ringtail (Austrolestes leda)
  • 3 Aurora Bluetail (Ischnura aurora)
  • 3 Blue-spotted Hawker (Adversaeschna brevistyla)
  • 2 flies
  • 1 moth

view observations

A significant number of the Austrolestes were newly emerged and all the Adversaeschna brevistyla seen had emerged that morning (a few more of these could not be photographed/recorded as they flew away).

Publicado el diciembre 25, 2021 08:33 TARDE por reiner reiner

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That's some pretty thorough work.

Publicado por mattcampbellaus hace casi 3 años

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