Ohio 2024
Meeting Organizer: Dave McShaffrey
How did we end up in Ohio?
Well, in 2001, Jen Wykle contacted me asking for help on assembling a dragonfly list for West Virginia. Bob Glotzhober and I were able to connect her with others such as Nick Donnelly and she soon had a rudimentary but dated list. The idea came up to have a DSA meeting in West Virginia and this took place in 2002. As part of the after-meeting trips the group came to Williamstown WV, across the river from Marietta, to board USFWS craft to go out to one of the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge islands, and I pointed out Marietta to Jerrell Daigle. He asked me if there was a good Mexican Restaurant there; I said yes, and ever since he has been hounding me to have a meeting here.
For a long time I resisted the idea, simply because I could not see the attraction of Marietta in terms of the odonate fauna. Why would anyone come here to see all this common stuff? My thinking on this changed in 2016 when the Ohio Odonata Society invited Kurt Mead to keynote our annual meeting. On one of our field trips, Kurt called me over with some excitement – “Dave, is this what I think it is?” I confirmed that it was in fact Ischnura posita and Kurt had a lifer. This was a paradigm change for me; Fragile Forktails are officially our 4th most commonly observed species and given their size and secretive ways are probably the most abundant species in the state. A lifer for someone 2 states away, and at that a someone who is a pretty darn good Odontologist and author of a great field guide.
At the 2018 meeting in Minnesota Jarrell brought it up again and I said yes; plans were made for 2021 after Oklahoma.
Covid.
And here we are.
Are you attending the meeting?
Registration closes June 26th!
Workshops
Field trip info
Book your accommodation at Marietta College!
Registration closed on June 20th.
Interested in a box lunch on Saturday and or Sunday?
Lunch reservations closed June 21.
A Naturalist’s Guide to the Odonata of Ohio for sale at DSA meeting!
The upcoming "A Naturalist's Guide to the Odonata of Ohio" will be available at the conference for a special price brought to us by Gene Kritsky, Publication Director for the Ohio Biological Survey- $52/cash, $55/credit. This is a substantial discount from the final, regular price, and similar to the discount available to OBS members.
The book is almost 400 pages long with full-color photos of the 170 or so species of Dragonflies and Damselflies in the state. It also includes a new, hybrid key to adults for all the species; the key can be used both for in-hand specimens, and in many cases, for identification from photographs using field characters.
Again, this discount only available to attendees at the meeting (or join OBS and get the member's discount).
Official 2024 DSA t-shirts available until May 31!
See all the 2024 DSA store offerings
Become a member of the Ohio Odonata Society.
We would love DSA members from across the Americas to join and support us as well.
Join the Ohio Odonata Society for $15/year and get access to our newsletter with timely information on the dragonflies and damselflies of the state, where to find them, and other cool stuff. Membership supports our new website and our small grants program. Current members can also renew with this option.
More meeting information below
The DSA business meeting and scientific presentations will be held at Marietta College.
The field trip will take place at the Little Muskingum River Valley.
Pre and post trips all over the state.
Marietta’s Odes
Find out more about the damselflies and dragonflies of Marietta
Dorms available at Marietta College
