Dragonfly movement at the coast

 

 

I was away at a meeting this week, but Eric was in Bodega Bay and observed a significant movement of dragonflies (and some butterflies) along the coast today (4 October 2023).  He caught and photographed a couple of them to document which species were involved.

 

Pictured above is a male Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum).  Below is an example of a female:

 

 

 

Eric counted ~40 dragonflies/minute flying south along the outer coast of Bodega Head at ~10:45 a.m.  I was curious about the weather conditions at the time.  I knew it had been warm, but I didn't know how warm!

 

There are several weather stations on Bodega Head.  I checked the first and didn't believe my eyes because it had peaked at ~87°F (~30°C) today.  So I checked a second and it also read ~87°F!  Then to be sure I checked a third (and the one I generally consider the most accurate) and it peaked at ~85°F (~29°C).  Amazing!  Air temperatures that high are quite rare on Bodega Head.

 

There was also an unusual spike in air temperature this morning.  It started out in the 50s this morning, but then rose steadily to 70°F at 10 a.m. and continued to rise significantly until reaching ~85°F at noontime.  Then it plummeted back to ~70°F for the rest of the afternoon.  (The wind direction also changed with the temperature pattern, from north/northeast then veering to west.)

 

More hot temperatures are expected tomorrow, so it'll be interesting to see if there are more movements of insects at the coast.