Our half-acre pond seems to be doing pretty well since I added a couple of buckets of water and bottom matter from the swamp as well as planting the shallow end with Sagittaria and Pontederia. For several years, the water was virtually sterile with very few microscopic critters at all. Now that I’ve added some “livelier” matter from the swamp, it seems to be doing better.
This summer (2025) in particular I’ve noticed several species of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) that I hadn’t seen before around our pond. So here is a list as of most, though maybe not all, of the species of Odonata I have observed at or near our pond during the summer of 2025.
Dragonflies
1. Common Green Darner – Anax junius
2. Regal Darner – Coryphaeschna ingens
3. Swamp Darner – Epiaeschna heros
4. Cyrano Darner – Nasiaeschna pentacantha
5. Gray-green Clubtail – Arigomphus pallidus
6. Lancet Clubtail – Phanogomphus exilis
7. Ashy Clubtail – Phanogomphus lividus
8. Stream Cruiser – Macromia transversa
9. Common Baskettail – Epitheca cynosura
10. Mantled Baskettail – Epitheca semiaquea
11. Fine-lined Emerald – Somatochlora filosa
12. Red-veined Pennant – Celithemis bertha
13. Halloween Pennant – Celithemis eponina
14. Banded Pennant – Celithemis fasciata
15. Swift Setwing – Dythemis velox
16. Eastern Pondhawk – Erythemis simplicicollis
17. Little Blue Dragonlet – Erythrodiplax minuscula
18. Golden-winged Skimmer – Libellula auripennis
19. Bar-winged Skimmer – Libellula axilena
20. Slaty Skimmer – Libellula incesta
21. Widow Skimmer – Libellula luctuosa
22. Needham’s Skimmer – Libellula needhami
23. Painted Skimmer – Libellula semifasciata
24. Great Blue Skimmer – Libellula vibrans
25. Common Whitetail – Plathemis lydia
26. Blue Corporal – Ladona deplanata
27. Blue Dasher – Pachydiplax longipennis
28. Wandering Glider – Pantala flavescens
29. Eastern Amberwing – Perithemis tenera
30. Blue-faced Meadowhawk – Sympetrum ambiguum
31. Carolina Saddlebags – Tramea carolina
Damselflies
32. Swamp Spreadwing – Lestes vigilax
33. Southern Spreadwing – Lestes australis
34. Carolina Spreadwing – Lestes vidua
35. Elegant Spreadwing – Lestes inaequalis
36. Blue-fronted Dancer – Argia apicalis
37. Pale Bluet – Enallagma pallidum
38. Orange Bluet – Enallagma signatum
39. Citrine Forktail – Ischnura hastata
40. Fragile Forktail – Ischnura posita
That’s an even 40 species, although I may have forgotten some. There are others, such as Spangled Skimmers, that are nearby–just 200 yards from the pond. But since I haven’t actually seen them at the pond, I left them off the list (as well as a few others such as the Mocha Emerald).
Not bad.
