As October approaches, I can always count on observing asters and meadowhawks.
Asters are lovely, omnipresent bouquets of multiple flowers with yellow, pink and brown centers surrounded by long white, blue and other-hued petals. They are among the last of the native blooming flowers to shine before winter comes.
Meadowhawks are dragonflies that flit about in wet areas and prairies near water. Their long abdomens are typically the color of sugar maple leaves turning reddish-orange in the autumn days of waning sunshine.
During my last dragonfly and damselfly survey of the year at Lake Defiance at Moraine Hills State Park, I encountered copious bouquets of asters along the boardwalk, as well as mating meadowhawks dipping in and out of the vegetation, their bodies clasped in a heart shape.
A month earlier, eastern pondhawk dragonflies with blue abdomens and green eyes were dancing above the water, and scads of white water lilies were in full bloom. It still was summer.
Both the eastern pondhawk and the water lily are easy to identify. But aster species and meadowhawk species are notoriously difficult to identify, and that makes for a challenging field day in autumn.
In Lake County alone, at last count 25 different species of native asters grow. The only native aster I can truly identify while in the field is the New England aster, one of the last aster species to bloom here. Its petals are larger than the other asters, and it has distinct deep blue purple petals with yellow in the center.
Other fairly common aster species have enchanting names such as smooth aster, heath aster, sky blue aster and calico aster.
The smooth aster has reddish stems, and the flowers have purple petals. It grows 2 to 4 feet tall, and like the other asters blooming at this time, attracts bees and other pollinators. Pearl crescent butterflies often sip nectar from the smooth aster. It’s a sight I treasure each fall.
I recently learned that smooth aster looks very similar to sky blue aster, but the latter has rougher leaves. Did I really see smooth aster or sky blue aster?
To make matters more confusing, some aster species hybridize with others. For example, the heath aster hybridizes with the New England aster, according to John Wilty, author of illinioswildflowers.info. Check his website to peruse the detailed identification factors of the various asters growing in our state.
Try as I have over the years to learn a few common aster species names besides the New England, it’s still very difficult to separate them in the wild. Still, seeing a field full of asters with white, purple and blue flower petals of various sizes, reminds us of life’s biodiversity.
Regarding those meadowhawks, there are much fewer species to identify compared with the asters, but you may need a magnifying lens and a dragonfly that sits still long enough for you to examine it.
Meadowhawks generally fly later in the summer and into autumn, and have reddish or yellowish orange abdomens, and reddish or chestnut-colored eyes.
Two species of meadowhawks flying around in our region now are the cherry-faced meadowhawk and the ruby meadowhawk. Males have reddish abdomens; females have yellowish abdomens, and both species look almost identical.
One dragonfly expert described separating the two species like this: “You need to look very carefully at the shape of the reproductive organs located at the tip of the tail, and at a feature called the hamules, which is beneath the abdomen close to the thorax. Even then the ID might be less than certain.”
One meadowhawk I can often identify in the wild is the autumn meadowhawk, once called the yellow-legged meadowhawk because its leg color is pale compared with that of the dark legs of the other meadowhawk species.
With binoculars, I can see the leg color of the meadowhawks. The autumn meadowhawk is one of the last species of dragonflies to be out and about as winter sets in. It can even be found here in November, when most other dragonfly species in general are gone, having mated, laid eggs and died or migrated.
Each fall, I search for the last blooming New England aster and the last active autumn meadowhawk as the winds blow colder. It’s a way to hang on to one of my favorite seasons, and there’s still lots of autumn left to enjoy.
Sheryl DeVore has worked as a full-time and freelance reporter, editor and photographer for the Chicago Tribune and its subsidiaries. She’s the author of several books on nature and the environment. Send story ideas and thoughts to sheryldevorewriter@gmail.com.
