Jefferson County
Known species: 68
Total Observations: 1,088
Population: 67,964
Area in Square Miles: 408
People per Square Mile: 166
Observations per Square Mile: 2.1
Percent of State Species: 39%
Percent of State Observations: 0.4%
County iNaturalist observations
The Observed Species table provides statistical data on all odonata species that have been observed in the county. Below that is a Target Species table listing species that have not yet been documented in this county, but are likely to exist in it. This list is data-driven by listing species records from neighboring counties.
Observed Species
Common Name | Scientific Name | Jefferson Total | Ohio Total | Jefferson 2024 | Last Sighted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Pondhawk | Erythemis simplicicollis | 78 | 16,365 | 21 | 2024 |
| Violet Dancer | Argia fumipennis violacea | 77 | 7,557 | 18 | 2024 |
| Blue Dasher | Pachydiplax longipennis | 71 | 15,601 | 13 | 2024 |
| Widow Skimmer | Libellula luctuosa | 63 | 11,931 | 7 | 2024 |
| Eastern Forktail | Ischnura verticalis | 61 | 15,992 | 9 | 2024 |
| Double-striped Bluet | Enallagma basidens | 55 | 5,343 | 14 | 2024 |
| Common Whitetail | Plathemis lydia | 54 | 12,022 | 7 | 2024 |
| Fragile Forktail | Ischnura posita | 42 | 13,199 | 12 | 2024 |
| Ebony Jewelwing | Calopteryx maculata | 41 | 8,606 | 7 | 2024 |
| Eastern Amberwing | Perithemis tenera | 40 | 10,887 | 8 | 2024 |
| Lancet Clubtail | Phanogomphus exilis | 30 | 1,803 | 6 | 2024 |
| Blue-ringed Dancer | Argia sedula | 28 | 2,837 | 10 | 2024 |
| Dusky Dancer | Argia translata | 26 | 1,681 | 3 | 2024 |
| Dot-tailed Whiteface | Leucorrhinia intacta | 23 | 1,702 | 4 | 2024 |
| Familiar Bluet | Enallagma civile | 22 | 6,173 | 10 | 2024 |
| Common Green Darner | Anax junius | 20 | 5,160 | 7 | 2024 |
| Autumn Meadowhawk | Sympetrum vicinum | 20 | 8,456 | 5 | 2024 |
| Prince Baskettail | Epitheca princeps | 20 | 2,788 | 3 | 2024 |
| Black Saddlebags | Tramea lacerata | 19 | 3,380 | 5 | 2024 |
| Skimming Bluet | Enallagma geminatum | 19 | 3,832 | 2 | 2024 |
| Fawn Darner | Boyeria vinosa | 19 | 519 | 1 | 2024 |
| Powdered Dancer | Argia moesta | 18 | 5,141 | 7 | 2024 |
| Eastern Red Damsel | Amphiagrion saucium | 18 | 1,420 | 7 | 2024 |
| Orange Bluet | Enallagma signatum | 17 | 3,791 | 4 | 2024 |
| Halloween Pennant | Celithemis eponina | 17 | 4,187 | 3 | 2024 |
| Slender Spreadwing | Lestes rectangularis | 15 | 3,904 | 3 | 2024 |
| Calico Pennant | Celithemis elisa | 12 | 3,194 | 4 | 2024 |
| American Rubyspot | Hetaerina americana | 12 | 4,444 | 2 | 2024 |
| Ashy Clubtail | Phanogomphus lividus | 11 | 1,009 | 0 | 2019 |
| Azure Bluet | Enallagma aspersum | 9 | 2,488 | 4 | 2024 |
| Unicorn Clubtail | Arigomphus villosipes | 9 | 2,065 | 1 | 2024 |
| Shadow Darner | Aeshna umbrosa | 8 | 1,187 | 3 | 2024 |
| Stream Bluet | Enallagma exsulans | 8 | 4,803 | 2 | 2024 |
| Twelve-spotted Skimmer | Libellula pulchella | 8 | 3,740 | 1 | 2024 |
| Common Baskettail | Epitheca cynosura | 7 | 874 | 5 | 2024 |
| Spangled Skimmer | Libellula cyanea | 7 | 1,197 | 1 | 2024 |
| Aurora Damsel | Chromagrion conditum | 7 | 576 | 1 | 2024 |
| Spotted Spreadwing | Lestes congener | 6 | 860 | 4 | 2024 |
| Blue-fronted Dancer | Argia apicalis | 6 | 6,584 | 3 | 2024 |
| Great Spreadwing | Archilestes grandis | 6 | 959 | 2 | 2024 |
| Eastern Least Clubtail | Stylogomphus albistylus | 6 | 329 | 0 | 2018 |
| Comet Darner | Anax longipes | 5 | 605 | 2 | 2024 |
| Band-winged Meadowhawk | Sympetrum semicinctum | 4 | 931 | 0 | 2022 |
| Arrowhead Spiketail | Zoraena obliqua | 3 | 189 | 2 | 2024 |
| Delta-spotted Spiketail | Zoraena diastatops | 3 | 142 | 2 | 2024 |
| Springtime Darner | Basiaeschna janata | 3 | 374 | 1 | 2024 |
| Blue-tipped Dancer | Argia tibialis | 3 | 4,492 | 0 | 2022 |
| Ruby Meadowhawk | Sympetrum rubicundulum | 3 | 965 | 0 | 1997 |
| Swamp Spreadwing | Lestes vigilax | 3 | 608 | 0 | 2019 |
| Westfall's Slender Bluet | Enallagma traviatum westfalli | 2 | 2,367 | 0 | 2019 |
| Wandering Glider | Pantala flavescens | 2 | 1,523 | 0 | 2018 |
| Black-shouldered Spinyleg | Dromogomphus spinosus | 2 | 671 | 0 | 2021 |
| Dragonhunter | Hagenius brevistylus | 2 | 589 | 0 | 2018 |
| Gray Petaltail | Tachopteryx thoreyi | 2 | 446 | 0 | 2019 |
| Stream Cruiser | Didymops transversa | 2 | 140 | 0 | 1965 |
| Riffle Snaketail | Ophiogomphus carolus | 2 | 45 | 0 | 1983 |
| Citrine Forktail | Ischnura hastata | 1 | 962 | 1 | 2024 |
| Amber-winged Spreadwing | Lestes eurinus | 1 | 706 | 1 | 2024 |
| Tiger Spiketail | Zoraena erronea | 1 | 126 | 1 | 2024 |
| Turquoise Bluet | Enallagma divagans | 1 | 918 | 0 | 2019 |
| Swift River Cruiser | Macromia illinoiensis | 1 | 760 | 0 | 1940 |
| Sweetflag Spreadwing | Lestes forcipatus | 1 | 514 | 0 | 2023 |
| Rainbow Bluet | Enallagma antennatum | 1 | 485 | 0 | 1961 |
| Cobra Clubtail | Gomphurus vastus | 1 | 471 | 0 | 1940 |
| Arrow Clubtail | Stylurus spiniceps | 1 | 321 | 0 | 1983 |
| Clamp-tipped Emerald | Somatochlora tenebrosa | 1 | 217 | 0 | 1983 |
| Twin-spotted Spiketail | Zoraena maculata | 1 | 95 | 0 | 1941 |
| Northern Pygmy Clubtail | Lanthus parvulus | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1983 |
Target Species
Target species are potential County Records - species not yet documented in the county. 'Local Obs' is Local Observations and indicates the number of times that the species has been observed in adjacent counties since 2000, and '# of Counties' is the number of adjacent counties in which those recent observations took place. Zero local observations or recent counties means the existing records are historical. 'Peak Active' is a relative description of when the species has been known to fly.| Common Name | Scientific Name | Ohio Obs | Local Obs | # of Counties | Peak Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slaty Skimmer | Libellula incesta | 4,920 | 46 | 4 | Jul |
| Painted Skimmer | Libellula semifasciata | 1,208 | 7 | 4 | May |
| Vesper Bluet | Enallagma vesperum | 922 | 26 | 3 | Jun |
| Lilypad Forktail | Ischnura kellicotti | 858 | 84 | 2 | Jun-Sep |
| Carolina Saddlebags | Tramea carolina | 1,263 | 14 | 2 | late May-early Jun |
| Tule Bluet | Enallagma carunculatum | 569 | 8 | 2 | Jun-Jul |
| Midland Clubtail | Gomphurus fraternus | 927 | 6 | 2 | late May-mid Jun |
| Royal River Cruiser | Macromia taeniolata | 598 | 4 | 2 | late Jul-Aug |
| Swamp Darner | Epiaeschna heros | 715 | 3 | 2 | late May-early Jun |
| Green-striped Darner | Aeshna verticalis | 342 | 2 | 2 | Sep |
| Rusty Snaketail | Ophiogomphus rupinsulensis | 348 | 10 | 1 | Jun |
| Elegant Spreadwing | Lestes inaequalis | 580 | 3 | 1 | Jun |
| Spatterdock Darner | Rhionaeschna mutata | 396 | 2 | 1 | Jun |
| Emerald Spreadwing | Lestes dryas | 567 | 1 | 1 | Jun |
| Spot-winged Glider | Pantala hymenaea | 562 | 1 | 1 | Jul |
| Rapids Clubtail | Phanogomphus quadricolor | 377 | 1 | 1 | Jun |
| Black-tipped Darner | Aeshna tuberculifera | 163 | 1 | 1 | late Aug-early Sep |
| Red Saddlebags | Tramea onusta | 146 | 1 | 1 | Jun-Jul |
| Sedge Sprite | Nehalennia irene | 396 | 0 | 0 | Jun |
| Lance-tipped Darner | Aeshna constricta | 361 | 0 | 0 | Sep |
| Southern Spreadwing | Lestes australis | 284 | 0 | 0 | May |
| Hagen's Bluet | Enallagma hageni | 85 | 0 | 0 | Jun |
| Northern Spreadwing | Lestes disjunctus | 24 | 0 | 0 | Jun-Aug |
| Umber Shadowdragon | Neurocordulia obsoleta | 6 | 0 | 0 | Jun |
Jefferson County lies along the Ohio River and is located in the Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. Much of the county, especially the southern part,was strip mined and has been mostly reclaimed.
County Observation Activity
This graph shows the total number of odonata observations for the county in blue, with the average for all Ohio counties in orange. The season is divided into 10 or 11 day segments by Month – basically early-month, mid-month, and late-month.
Page updated 2 January 2025