📜 EwA Week Highlights: Dragonfly Obelisks & More Bumblebees

[Mike McGlathery]

EwA Highlights July 13, 2024 Hello everyone! Thanks for reading the July 13th EwA highlights. As of my writing, EwA is about 500 observations away from hitting 200,000 observations in our iNat biodiversity projects. It’s going to happen this week, so if you’re out in the field, your observation could be the one to get us there! 📸 The heat in the Boston area has been relentless this week, and our local fauna had to adapt their behaviors accordingly. One such behavior I enjoy observing in the wild is the “obelisk posture” that some dragonflies & damselflies (order Odonata) perform. While this raised-abdomen pose is sometimes used to defend territory, it has also been documented as a reaction to intense heat. It is theorized to help the dragonfly cool down by reducing the proportion of its body that is absorbing heat from the sun. Heather observed this ebony jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata) in obelisk pose on Friday. EwA iNaturalist Record (© aussies2· Woburn, MA · July 12, 2024)  I mentioned longhorn bees in the highlights last week, and we have another great picture of one this week. Claire observed this dark-veined longhorn bee (Melissoides trinodis) on Sunday. Its second antenna might be hard to spot, but it’s there, out of focus since it’s so long and basically pointed straight at the camera. EwA iNaturalist Record (© Claire O’Neill · Somerville, MA · July 7, 2024)  The bumblebees were back at the top of our iNat species list this week. The brown-belted bumblebee was the most observed, with 21 observations. Kristian spotted this one in Arlington on Monday. EwA iNaturalist Record (© kdemary · Arlington, MA · July 8, 2024)  📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this past week, totaling 1,014 observations of 527 distinct species. If you’re curious about the records from this week that have been validated by the iNat community so far, you can find them » here. 🏆 Running tally: To date, we have recorded 199,436 observations of 11,297 distinct species! Check out our EwA umbrella project, see the details per site/observer, and more » here. 📅 EwA Upcoming Public Events Ewa Field Events » Check the EwA Summer [ Event details and registration » ] Don’t miss some great opportunities to follow the rhythm of the season in our local habitats and in the local wildlife! Space is limited for all our field events. Wildlife ethics is important to us and we seek to avoid putting the pressure on natural habitats which large gatherings unavoidably do. We are asking our audience to register-and-commit (or cancel when you know you can’t come) to avoid no-shows. EwA Fieldwork (and Resources) It’s a great time to join our monitoring programs. Check EwA’s Volunteer Program Calendar 📅  to know when things happen. And if a session is of interest to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to get the rendezvous location. 📅 EwA Sites Map | 🌱 Site Protocols and Guides · Field Rosters · Field Notes » All here! | ℹ️ More about EwA’s Citizen Science Program » Here ❓ Do you have any questions? Don’t be shy. Just email me or reply to this thread.  That’s all for this week—hope you have a good one! -Mike