About the site: This is a beta version of a website for people who care about dragonflies and damselflies. Some buttons are working, some are not; you can try them and see what happens.
What are odos? The proper term for dragonflies and damselflies is "odonate." They are referred to here as "odos." The plural can be "odos" or "odo's." The term is used as a prefix for many things odo-related; thus, we have odophotos, odonotes, etc.
Odonotes: Pictures and text. Odonotes typically describe a visit to a pond, with photos of strange creatures doing wonderful things, emphasis on odos. They can also be about a specific topic. The format is text with embedded photos. The format for the odonotes is under development.
The buttons on the left: These will link to some introductory pages and specific odo topics. Many don't work yet -- you can try them, though, and if the sub-page is not developed you'll see a nice odophoto; you can click on it to get back to this page. Since hi-res close-up photography reveals so many hitherto unrevealed details, the number of potential topics is great.
Photo Albums (buttons on the right): These are albums created with a 3rd-party template. They require Java to run. If they don't work in your browser, it might be time to upgrade it. Photos Albums are easy to step through; you can also run them as slide shows -- click on Help at the bottom for instructions. Some buttons do not work yet. New albums are on the way; also, full captions and DXF info.
Related Links (buttons on the right): The Forum and FAQ pages have been preloaded with correspondence from previous Odonotes email recipients. The Contact button is now working and you can use it to send comments or questions. Responses to questions will be added to the Forum page with a copy to your email address.
Current scope: Field work to date covers the odofauna of the South San Francisco Bay region. The various odo sites are listed under Our Ponds button, left. All sites but two are in Santa Clara County.
Future scope: We hope to continually add new notes and photos of more species, which will require traveling further afield than we do now; however, there is much that all of us can do and learn locally. One of the great things about odonatology is that amateurs can make significant contributions to the knowledge base. It would also be good to have a resource listing accessible odo sites everywhere; this would best be done by DSA, but we might try it here.
Resources: Tim Manolis' "Dragonflies and Damselflies of California" is a comprehensive field guide with all our 96 species described and drawn in beautiful detail. Kathy Biggs' "Common Dragonflies of California," is a useful book with some good photos. The serious odophile will want to own the bibles: "Dragonflies of North America" and "Damselflies of North America" by Needham, Westfall and May ($225 for the pair). These authorities would probably agree there is still much to be learned about North American odonates.
South Bay Area odos: Adults can be found flying in the Santa Clara Valley in every month but January. The flight season really gets going in spring with the emergence of the California Darner and some of the early Libellulid skimmers. Over 35 species fly from April through October, after which the first prolonged period of sunless days finishes them off. Our most prolific species is a damsel, the Pacific Forktail, which breeds and emerges continuously from February into November or even, some years, December. Our commonest dragonfly is the Blue Dasher, abundant at all our ponds from late April into September.