94/150: O Canada Darner!

Animalia: Arthropoda: Insecta: Odonata: Aeshnidae: Aeshna: Aeshna canadensis Walker, 1908

A real Canadian dragonfly, the Canada darner Aeshna canadensis is native to all ten Canadian provinces. Ranging from a brilliant blue to a rich brown in colour, Canada darner males are usually seen hovering near edges of boggy freshwater habitats, whereas the milder coloured females (who can come in blue, green or yellow) tend to be seen near forested areas or fields. Dragonflies are not just a beautiful sight to be seen. In fact, the presence of dragonflies near a beaver pond or lake – alongside the presence of damselflies and mayflies – is an indicator of a healthy and biodiverse aquatic ecosystem! Not only that, but dragonflies are very sensitive to global climate change – which means that by observing changes in their populations it can indicate changes in climate. Keep an eye out for these important insects on your next hike and see if you are passing by a healthy ecosystem, or one that may be affected strongly by changing temperatures. #Canada150 #Biodiversity150

A Canada darner in flight. Photo Credit: Gary Yankech goo.gl/i6Ga2
The colourful patterns of the Canada darner. Photo Credit: Mike Ostrowski goo.gl/BKAn2V

Here’s the barcode sequence information for this species:

Process ID: ODSO720-08

nucleotide sequence

AACACTTTATTTTTTATTTGGGGCATGATCAGGAATAGTAGGAACTGCTTTAAGAGTTCTAATTCGAATTGAATTAGGACAACCAGGATCATTAATTGGAGATGATCAAATTTATAATGTAATTGTAACAGCACATGCTTTTGTTATAATTTTCTTTATAGTGATACCTATTATAATTGGAGGATTCGGGAATTGGTTAGTACCACTAATATTAGGAGCTCCTGATATAGCTTTCCCACGTTTAAATAATATAAGATTTTGATTGTTACCTCCTTCATTAACACTATTATTAGCAGGAAGTATGGTTGAAAGAGGAGCCGGAACAGGTTGAACTGTATATCCACCTCTAGCTGGTGCAATTGCTCATGCAGGAGCATCAGTAGATTTAACTATTTTTTCTTTACATCTGGCTGGAGTATCTTCAATTTTAGGGGCTATTAATTTTATTACTACAACAATTAATATAAAGTCACCAGGAATAAAGATAGATCAAATACCTCTTTTTGTATGAGCTGTTGTAATTACAGCTGTACTTTTATTACTTTCTTTACCAGTTCTTGCTGGAGCAATTACTATACTCTTAACAGATCGAAATATTAATACATCATTTTTTGATCCAGCAGGAGGAGGAGATCCTATTTTATATCAACACTTATTC

amino acid sequence

TLYFLFGAWSGMVGTALSVLIRIELGQPGSLIGDDQIYNVIVTAHAFVMIFFMVMPIMIGGFGNWLVPLMLGAPDMAFPRLNNMSFWLLPPSLTLLLAGSMVESGAGTGWTVYPPLAGAIAHAGASVDLTIFSLHLAGVSSILGAINFITTTINMKSPGMKMDQMPLFVWAVVITAVLLLLSLPVLAGAITMLLTDRNINTSFFDPAGGGDPILYQHLF

Visual representation of DNA barcode sequence for Canada Darner

Learn more about it’s BIN (Barcode Index Number): BOLD:ABU7323

Title Image: Specimen ODSO720-08 – Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba – 12-Aug-2008
Photo Credit: CBG Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics

50/150 A damsel in distress? Think again!

animalia: Arthropoda: Insecta: Odonata: Coenagrionidae: Enallagma: Enallagma antennatum (Say, 1839)

Have you ever wondered what the difference between a dragonfly and a damselfly was? Well you’ve come to the right place! First things first, both dragons and damsels make up an ancient order of insects called Odonata. They originated at least 300 million years ago and have changed very little in body design since then. Continue reading “50/150 A damsel in distress? Think again!”

Keeping Your Balance In A Stratified Ecosystem

Hello faithful readers!

Last week I was on the BIObus in several lovely Canadian parks where our team focused on aquatic collections. We got to tramp around in various rivers, bogs, fens, swamps and shorelines in our hip waders, scooping up bugs with our D-nets. This trip, along with many others that will take place this summer, will help BIO add a new level of aquatic invertebrates to the reference library. Continue reading “Keeping Your Balance In A Stratified Ecosystem”