Common Whitetail

Plathemis lydia

The common whitetail or long-tailed skimmer is a common dragonfly across much of North America, with a striking and unusual appearance. The male's chunky white body, combined with the brownish-black bands on its otherwise translucent wings, give it a checkered look. Females have a brown body and a different pattern of wing spots, closely resembling that of female Libellula pulchella, the twelve-spotted skimmer. Whitetail females can be distinguished by their smaller size, shorter bodies, and white zigzag abdominal stripes; the abdominal stripes of L. puchella are straight and yellow. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this insect was recorded 37 times across 4 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

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Movement and weather

Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in North America ranged from 35°N in April to 45°N in August, about 1,100 km apart.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.