Exceptionally, today's post will be in English for all my friends following this blog from Ontario, USA and elsewhere in the world. Please forgive all the errors you will find in the text.
On June 6th, I visited my favorite vernal pool north of Boucher Forest (Gatineau, QC). Vernal pools are not well known in Québec. They are not protected under provincial regulation. With a group of friends, we try to locate and describe vernal pools in our area. This one is part of a very large wetland. It is home for wood frogs, ambystoma salamanders and fairy shrimps.
I noticed that one area of the pool that used to be under the shade of black ash (Fraxinus nigra) is now getting more sun because of the Emeral Ash Borer. Sedge is taking advantage of it.
The middle of the pool is widely opened and dominated by sedge. It is also the deepest part of the pool: ankle to knee-hight by now. This is the place to see damselflies and dragonflies.
Four-spotted skimmer (
Libellula quadrimaculata, la quadrimaculée) dominates the pond.
Belted Whiteface (Leucorrhinia proxima, Leucorrhine apprivoisée) is also breeding here in fair numbers.
Two damselflies emerged from the pool that day: Emerald Spreadwing (Lestes dryas, Leste dryade) and Sedge sprite (Nehalennia irene, déesse paisible). Two others were breeding. Taiga bluet (Coenagrion resolutum, agrion résolu) laid eggs in sedge:
Boreal bluet (
Enallagma boreal, agrion boréal) laid eggs in branches well above water-level:
But the highlight of this visit was an Harlequin darner (
Gomphaeschna furcillata, Aeschne pygmée) found in a bunch of sedge. I saw this species only once in the area, two years ago (June 4th 2013), in a trail nearby. I didn't know at that time where it was breeding. I am not 100% sure, but I think this female darner was looking for a place to lay eggs. I would not say that this vernal pool is home of an Harlequin darner population, but it seems there is a potential.
