New York Dragonfly and Damselfly Survey

Project Sponsor: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation - Division of Fish and Wildlife
End Date: Jan. 1, 2012

Summary

The New York Dragonfly and Damselfly Survey (NYDDS) began in 2005, spanned five field seasons through 2009, and relied heavily on citizen scientists to help collect data over a large geographic area. Its primary goal was to document the current distribution of all odonate species in New York State.

Distribution and Status of the Odonates of New York

Distribution and Status of the Odonates of New York report cover.

Our five-year sampling effort yielded many important finds. Most notable were five species added to the list of known odonates for the state, bringing the cumulative total to 194 species, one of the highest diversities of any U.S. state. Participants visited over 2,170 survey sites statewide and a total of 4,383 surveys were conducted, including repeat visits. We confirmed over 18,000 individual species records based on our verification protocol. NYDDS yielded 1,111 new county records beyond these preexisting data. Each county’s documented richness increased by 18 species on average, and we documented at least 75 species in two-thirds of New Yorks' 62 counties. A list was compiled for each county as well as a distributional map and phenology chart for all 194 species and full species accounts are included for all 48 SGCN.

White, E.L., J.D. Corser, and M.D. Schlesinger. 2010. The New York Dragonfly and Damselfly Survey: Distribution and Status of the Odonates of New York. New York Natural Heritage Program, Albany, New York.

Distribution and Status of the Odonates of New York (PDF, 36.7 MB)


Jan. 14, 2021 | Updated Feb. 5, 2021, 9:16 a.m.