insects – Ogeechee Riverkeeper

By Beatriz Moisset – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Bald-faced hornet
Dolichovespula maculata

The bald-faced hornet, also called the bald hornet or the white-faced hornet, is technically a wasp and only a close cousin to the true hornet. It gets its name for the black and white coloring (rather than the typical black and yellow) of its body.

Still, it behaves much that same, living in colonies of several hundred and building paper nests created from chewed wood pulp mixed with saliva. Nests high in trees or rocky overhangs are common. These beautiful nests can be up to two feet long.

A bald-faced hornet nest in a tree along the Ogeechee River. Photo by Samarra Mullis

The nests include many layers of hexagonal combs inside of an outer layer protective paper. They also create air vents in the upper portion of the nest that heat to escape.

The adult hornets are omnivores, eating other insects as well as fruit, meat, spiders and plant nectar. Perhaps more fierce and frightening than butterflies or bees, they are also important pollinators.

This species lives throughout most of America and Canada but are most commonly found in the American southeast. They are a stinging insects, though rarely do so unless disturbed. When found in urban or suburban areas it is recommended the nests be moved by professionals.

DRAGONFLIES
Odonata anisoptera

DAMSELFLIES
Odonata zygoptera

Dragonflies and damselflies are closely related insects. Sometimes called ‘mosquito hawks,’ they are aerial predators that feed on insects such as midges and mosquitoes. They don’t have a stinger, but they can bite. None are known to be harmful to humans.

Wings of odonata, dragonflies and damselflies, Manual of Entomology, Maxwell Lefroy, 1923

Dragonflies and damselflies can be distinguished by the shape of the their wings. Anisoperta means “unequal wings” as dragonflies have slightly different pairs of wings. Zygoperta, meaning “equal wings” refers to damselflies. Both sets of wings are the same size and shape.

In the world there are about 5,000 species of odonata, with about 450 in North America. The Ogeechee and Canoochee Rivers are home to a few species, including some uncommon ones.

Sparkling jewelwing
Calopteryx dimidiata

A damselfly (note the aligned wingsets in photo above), it is large and easily found in Georgia and across the southeast. It’s typically found in sandy forest streams, particularly acidic ones like the blackwater Ogeechee and Canoochee rivers.

Blackwater clubtail
Gomphus dilatatus

This dragonfly is fairly uncommon and only found in the coastal plain regions. They tend to live near slow-moving rivers or streams with sandy or silty bottoms and perch on leaves or branches close to the water. The genus gomphidae is noted for its club-like tail and clear wings. There are fourteen of this genus in Georgia, but are difficult to study due to their rarity and short season.

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