Dragonflies Australia

Just one odonata species sighted.

Two common odonata species observed by river below falls.

This swamp was completely dry and may only hold water briefly after a wet period. Its mostly overgrown with tea-tree.

A large drainage channel that flows into Mullins Swamp. The swamp itself is really a lake and virtually inaccessible. Seems it tends to dry out a fair bit and become fairly saline. Though my view was superficial it does not appear to be suitable habitat for Hemiphlebia .

I did however spend most of my time by the bridge where Range Road crosses the drain. This area contained many Orthetrum caledonicum , Ischnura heterosticta and Crocothemis nigrifrons . The latter being a significant species for the south of the continent.

When I first got to the drain I saw the familiar Blue Skimmers, but also noticed darker dragonflies of similar size. I was having difficulty identifying them - they did look very dark in flight over the water - but eventually saw some perch and was able to possitively ID them as nigrifrons.

In the evening I had the pleasure of observing the Ischnura heterosticta and Crocothemis nigrifrons congregating in the grass for their overnight slumber. I saw up to 3 of the former and 5 of the latter on a single stalk of grass.

Lake Frome Conservation Park is mainly a wetland area. To me it seems the drainage of the area has lowered the water level but I managed to find some Hemiphlebia mirabilis in a corner that seemed in pretty good condition, complete with the now ubiquitous twig-rush.

Currently a fairly dry lake with a bit of water left in the middle. Reasonable patches of twig-rush around the outside of the lake area but no water by them and no Hemiphlebia sighted.

Its possible that with more water the twig-rush would provide suitable Hemiphlebia habitat but with dry years past I don't think its likely they're still present.

Typical twig-rush Hemiphlebia habitat but fewer of these damsels seen here than a few weeks earlier and the water level was a little lower too.

Track to deep water body.

Parts looked like they could be suitable for Hemiphlebia but I failed to find any here. It could be too late in the season as the water was mostly absent from the twig-rush areas.

Small swamp with twig-rush and similar habitat apparently suitable for Hemiphlebia but area is rather limited.

Large twigrush swamp with relatively deep water (25-50cm) and numerous Hemiphlebia mirabilis present.

Just a flying visit to do some monitoring.

Just one odonata seen on track down to Leg of Mutton Lake.

Swamp beside road with several common odonata spotted. No twig-rush nor Hemiphlebia present.

Fairly large, undualating wetland with pools of water to 25cm deep and large areas of Common Bull Rush and small patches of twig-rush. Despite the presence of apparent suitable habitat for Hemiphlebia mirabilis I was unable to find any despite a reasonable amount of searching.

Fairly large swamp beside road with a patch of Common Bull Rush and a larger area containing twig-rush in which some Hemiphlebia mirabilis were seen.

Small pond amongst tea-tree and Mellaleuca with water depth to 50cm or more. Difficult to access, even with recent fire. Some unconfirmed Hemicorulea sighted but not Hemiphlebia habitat.

Swamp with significant water circled by open redgum woodland. Readily accessible via old track from the north. Many dragonflies sighted, including Hemiphlebia .

Small pond with clear water to 80cm deep with a lot of emergent and thick riparian vegetation. Not Hemiphlebia habitat but interesting non-the-less.

Molside Picnic Area and nearby to where the creek meets the river.

Large swamp in Coboboonie forest with deep water, 50cm where I accessed the swamp. Some odonata present and some birds sighted in the evening of a hot day.

This is a large swampy area but quite patchy and broken with forest (as can be seen from the satellite images). This was a really hot day and I was only able to spend a bit of time to explore but sighted several Nannophya dalei and Hemiphlebia mirabilis .

The swamp still had a moderate amound of water but the twig-rush was absolutely covered with spider webs (mostly Jewel Spiders). I'm sure these would catch the last remaining Hemiphlebia as I saw two Diplacodes bipunctata caught in the one web.

Two different swamps eaither side of T and W Road.

The western swamp had signisicant water but probably not the right sort of habitat for Hemiphlebia . The eastern one is a little larger and I observed several unidentified Hemicodulae and could potentially have Hemiphlebia in the south.

Small dam and wetland area beside road with a small but variable population of common odonata.