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Rare dragonfly species last seen 100 years ago in the region near Lake Tahoe reemerges once again

The species was first discovered in the region over 100 years ago but had not been seen since.
Credit: Tahoe Institute for Natural Science
A Spiny Baskettail dragonfly was found by the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science in June.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Spiny Baskettail dragonfly, first discovered in the region near Lake Tahoe over 100 years ago, but had not been seen since was seen once again by people during a citizen science event in June in the Donner Lake area near Truckee. 

The discovery is significant because according to the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science.  It was widely accepted that the species of the dragonfly was "long gone, perhaps a victim of heavy recreational use at Donner Lake." 

Will Richardson, the TINS co-founder and executive director, said the latest discovery is an example of how citizen science can add valuable information to the scientific record. 

“Everyone believed this species was extirpated from the region, myself included, but we tried for it anyway," Richardson said. "Given all the previous attempts to relocate this population, it was nothing short of exhilarating when we proved ourselves wrong.”

TINS said the organization chose the area specifically for a chance to see the dragonfly. On the day of discovery those a part of the annual Odonate Blitz — an expedition into Tahoe habitats in search of dragonflies and damselflies — were getting tired as the day grew longer and hotter. 

That's when they spotted a lone dragonfly struggling on the surface of Donner Pond. The group was able to get the insect out of the water with a stick and upon further inspection, they learned that it was a female Spiny Baskettail dragonfly.

“Never, in the last three decades of intensive California dragonfly studies, has any species 'returned from the dead,’” Kathy Biggs, who has written regional field guides on dragonflies and keeps careful track of odonate records in California, said in the press release.

Another female dragonfly was found in the area over a week later. Moving forward, TINS will be scouring the Donner, Teichert, and Coldstream ponds starting in mid-May in 2022 to find more. TINS believes there must be a breeding population in the area.

Quick facts about the Spiny Baskettail dragonfly:

  • The species is relatively common across forested Canada and parts of the northern U.S.
  • In California, it is known from only four sites, three of which are close to the Oregon border.
  • The Spiny Baskettail was first spotted at Donner Lake in 1914 by Clarence Hamilton Kennedy.

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