I knew they had to be out there but, so far, I’d not found my lifer Mantled Baskettail until today on a trip up the Wentworth Lake Road at Jordan Falls. The road is in pretty good condition and the recent rains have made lots of small roadside pools to investigate. We did 20km each way, only turning when the road got a bit rocky and the heat brought on lethargy.
The first bunch of odes were Crimson-ringed Whiteface, busily chasing each other around and settling on regular perches, a bit far out for good shots. Small darner types kept flushing off the track all along the road and we soon got good looks at Harlequin Darner, none of them were inclined to settle but they are an easy identification.
While trying to catch a Harlequin Darner, I snagged a smaller ode and it was obvious in the net that it was a male Mantled Baskettail. After in-hand photos I tried for a few natural shots but it insisted on settling on me instead of the attractive vegetation.
At one point the car had a little swarm of baskettails around it and I netted this single female Mantled Baskettail.
We put up many clubtails off the road, most of them likely Lancet like the one below although one larger insect (bottom image) only gave me head-on views before clearing off. It was probably a fifth bigger than the Lancets nearby and the only NS options seem to be Beaverpond or Mustached, neither of which seem to fit. Additional – it has been suggested that the unidentified clubtail is in fact a Harlequin Darner. I agree, I was thrown by the down-curved abdomen and only had brief views. Thanks for the comment Martin Reuven
The only White Corporal seen was this young male, still developing his summer plumage.
We did four hours searching and, although the list is not huge, it was good to get back amongst the Blackflies looking for odes again.
Species seen on Wentworth Lake Road June 11th 2017:
Aurora Bluet
Harlequin Darner
Lancet Clubtail
Mantled Baskettail
White Corporal, one.
Crimson-ringed Whiteface
Spot-winged Glider, one
Whiteface sp. Probably Belted.
As always, comments regarding the identification of any of the odes here is welcome. We lack a truly definitive guide to ode identification and so the identification is often made from a numbers of references.
To find Wentworth Lake Road, leave Jordan Falls, Shelburne Co on highway 103 going south. Approximately 750m after the bridge over the river, in fact where the speed limit changes to 100kmph, there is a road/track going north (with a stop sign). The most ode activity seemed to be at the 15km+ mark.
Eastern Canada Odes 
Hi Mark. I know it’s out of its published range, but the clubtail sure is suggestive of Ashy. Too bad it didn’t let you net it.
I considered Ashy but not enough to go on. I’ll venture up there again in the next few days, it should allow for more emerging insects to mature and I’ll go earlier, it should make them easier to catch.
Nice to read about and see the different species. I had many along the Coldstream road yesterday; many unfortunately unidentified. Being very much a beginner, I have ID skills to develop. Looking forward to future posts.
The one on the ground looks like a harlequin darner.
I think you are right, I lumped it with the clubtails on the basis of it having a down-curved abdomen but the marks on the upper front of the thorax don’t fit any clubtails but are a good fit for Harlequin. Thanks for the comment.