💾 Archived View for magda.cities.yesterweb.org › oblog › 2024-june-09.gmi captured on 2024-08-18 at 17:20:37. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2024-07-08)
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IN my previous log I stated that my next trip will take me back to "Bog Hill". Unfortunately and despite summer-like conditions in the afternoon (23°C at 5:12 PM, clear sky), the winds were too strong. Because of this hill being almost entirely exposed, there was no point at visiting it on this day and I decided to walk my regular route and also check my local car repair.
+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+ | Species | Location | Status | +-------------------------+---------------------------------|--------+ | Aracia agestis | Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Coenonympha arcania | Zone III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Coenonympha pamphilus | Zone II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Maniola jurtina | Zone I / II / III / Car Repair | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Melanargia galathea | Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Thymelicus sp. + | Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Pieris rapae | Mixed Field / Zone I / II / | Adult | | | III / Car Repair | | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Polyommatus icarus | Mixed Field / Car Repair | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Vanessa atalanta | Zone II | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Coenagrion mercuriale | Zone II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Ischnura elegans | Zone III | Adult | +-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+
Just right after finally confirming T. lineola, one M. galathea caught my eye and I began to follow it. A few steps further to the east and an unsuspecting look to my left side revealed a handful adults of the same species to me, a month earlier than last year.
While most damselflies do not show up at this time of the day, C. mercuriale was present in areas protected from the strong winds. One damselfly seen in Zone III, however, gave me a headache during the identification process. This part of Zone III, the southern side of the pond, previously was not occupied by C. mercuriale but by C. hastulatum – both species tend to avoid each other within my main zones. It turned out that both of my picks were wrong after showing the shot to my friend; he identified it as a male blue-tailed damselfly (Ischnura elegans), a new species in my area.
Not bad, despite the winds.
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Addendum (22 June, 2024): This log initally stated the observations of O. sylvanus. This mis-identification was based on data from the southern regions of my state and my friend who based his assumption on observations from his own area in Austria. Subsequent field trips revealed that O. sylvanus is not active at this time and additional photos proved that the season of the genus Thymelicus has begun. Unfortunately (and once again), all individuals demonstrated characteristics of both T. sylvestris and T. lineola, providing further indications for possible "cryptic diversity".