BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Plathemis lydia
Common Whitetail
| Scientific Name: | Plathemis lydia (Drury, 1773) | ||||||||||
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| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Libellula lydia
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| English Name: | Common Whitetail | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Paulson, D.R. and S.W. Dunkle. 1999. A checklist of North American Odonata. Slater Museum of Natural History, University of Puget Sound Occasional Paper, 56: 86 pp. Available: http://www.ups.edu/x7015.xml. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy Comments: | June 2003, Jay Cordeiro from Central Zoology announced that Libellula lydia was to be changed to Plathemis lydia. I changed SNAME in Oct 2003. Waiting for GNAME etc. to change after next data exchange. ECR |
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| Species Group: | Invertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | OD-PLALYD | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (May 2015) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S4 (Mar 2023) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2005) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | The male thorax is dark brown with two pale lateral stripes that fade with age; abdomen is stocky and entirely pruinose white. Eyes are dark brown. Wings have an elongate basal patch on the leading edge and a broad black band across teh middle third. The female and immature male thorax is brown with two yellow lateral stripes; abdomen is brown with broken, angled, yellowish lateral patches. The female wings have an elongate basal patch, a large irregularly shaped patch at the nodus, and a broad black tip (Nikula et al., 2003). Males have large broad brown or black bands in the outer portion of each wing, while the female's wings are less maculated, with three spots, basally, at the nodus and apically. Its face is yellowish-brown initially, but becomes noticeably darker in both sexes. The top of the head is deep brown. The robust thorax is brown, unmarked in front and has two yellowish lateral stripes giving way to white at their upper ends. The wings in the male are as above with a small white spot below the basal dark area in the hindwing. The legs are brown. The abdomen is broad appearing triangu lar in cross-section as it tapers apically in males. The female abdomen is strongly depressed. In both sexes the abdomen is brown with an interrupted white line laterally, appearing as individual stripes. The thorax in mature males becomes darker and the lateral stripes obscured. The most noticeable change, however, is the total envelopment of the male abdomen by a white pruinescence (Abbott, 2007). From Abbott (2005): "It is moderate sized and stout, with a distinct dimorphism between the sexes. Males have large, broad brown or black bands in the outer portion of each wing, whereas the females wings are less maculated and bear three spots, one basally, another at the nodus, and the third apically, thus appearing as a smaller version of twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula pulchella). It face is yellowish-brown initially, but becomes noticeably darker in both sexes. The top of the head is deep brown. The robust thorax is brown, unmarked in front, and has two yellowish lateral stripes giving way to white at their upper ends. The wings in the male are as above, with a small white spot below the basal dark area in the hindwing. In both sexes, the legs are brown. In males the abdomen is broad, the legs are brown. In males the abdomen is broad, appearing triangular in cross section as it tapers apically. The famale abdomen is strongly depressed. In both sexes the abdomen is brown, with an interrupted white line laterally, appearing as a series of individual stripes. The thorax in mature males becomes darker and the lateral stripes are obscured. The most noticeable change, however, is the total envelopment of the male's abdomen by a white pruinescence." Size: total length: 38-48 mm; abdomen: 23-29 mm; hindwing: 29-35 mm (Abbott, 2007). LARVAE: To distinguish from other families, the triangle of each forewing is at least twice as far from the arculus as the triangle of each hindwing. The triangles of the forewings are more or less transversely elongated, distinctly different in shape from those of hingwings. Eyes are in contact for some distance dorsally, forming a distinct eye seam. Thickened antenodal crossveins are not present; and all antenodals (except sometimes the most distal) are aligned from veins C to R. To distinguish from other genera, the eyes are small, located antero-laterally and dorsally, usually projecting above the general surface of the epicranium. In dorsal view, the epicranium posterior to the eyes is at least twice as long as the eyes and with lateral margins nearly parallel behind the eyes. The abdomen is relatively long and tapering; with lateral spines on abdominal segments (8-9) shorter than 1/3 length of the respective segment(s); and segment 9 without adorsal hook. The margin of the median lobe of the prementum is smooth or with crenulations nearly imperceptible; and dorsal hooks present on some abdominal segments, but no dorsal hook on abdominal segment 8. To distinguish from other Plathemis species, prominent dorsal hooks are present on abdominal segments 2-6. |
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| Global Reproduction Comments: | Males defend small territories and raise their abdomens aggressively in flight when clashing with other males. Females oviposit in flight, tapping the tips of their abdomens to the water's surface to release the eggs. Males often hover hearby during oviposition (Nikula et al., 2003). Adults mature after an average of two weeks, after which they return to bodies of water to breed. Males are aggressive, often stealing females from other males. Mating is quick, occurring as the pair hovers over the water, usually no longer than three seconds. Males will often attempt to guard more than one female as they lay some 1,000 eggs, by tapping the tip of the abdomen to the water in regular intervals (Abbott, 2007). | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
Y / N / N / na / |
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| Global Migration Comments: | Males will often venture some distance from their breeding sites, and may commonly be seen along roadsides and path margins, perching on the ground, logs, or low vegetation (Abbott, 2007). | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | It occurs in a variety of wetlands including ponds, slow-moving, muddy-bottomed rivers and streams, and marshes; apparently tolerant of degraded habitats (Nikula et al., 2003). It is commonly seen at any standing body of water during summer but can be found at any pool, pond, lake, or quiet stream. | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: | |||||||||||
| Global Food Habits Comments: | |||||||||||
| Global Phenology: |
Diurnal: Adult
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| Global Phenology Comments: | Adults stray far from water, foraging in fields and forest openings and perching horixontally on the ground or obliquely on low vegetation (Nikula et al., 2003). The distinct white abdomen of mature males is used in displays to threaten other males. They elevate the abdomen above the rest of the body and fly towards an intruder. Males patrol moderate-sized habitats of 15-30 m around the shores of ponds, lakes and occasionally streams. They will often venture some distance from their breeding sites and may commonly be seen along roadsides and path margins perching on the ground, logs or low vegetation (Abbott, 2007). Flight period has been documented as March 3 (Louisiana) to November 24 (Louisiana) (Abbott, 2005). Needham et al. (2000) document flight period as February 9 (Florida)/ May 21 (Ontario) to September 5 (Ontario)/ November 24 (Louisiana). In Cape Cod, Massachusetts, it is late May to early September (Carpenter, 1991). In British Columbia it is from May 14 to September 24 (Cannings and Stewart, 1977). In Kansas it is April to October (Beckemeyer and Higgins, 1997). In California it is March to October (Biggs, 2000). In Florida it is February 9 to November 16 (Dunkle, 1989). In Georgia it is from mid-March to early November (Beaton, 2007). In Ohio it is from April 14 to October 1 (Glotzhober and McShaffrey, 2002). In the western Great Lakes, it is late May to early September (Mead, 2003). In Massachusetts, it it mid-May to mid-September (Nikula et al., 2003). |
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| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | This ubiquitous species occurs throughout the United States and all of southern Canada; extending into Mexico in Nuevo Leon (Needham et al., 2000). Although this species is widespread, its distribution is limited to the north where more than 1,660 degree days of growth (at a threshold of 5.6C ) are afforded (Abbott, 2007). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Cordeiro, J. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Feb 11, 2009 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Cannings, R.A. 2002b. Introducing the dragonflies of British Columbia and the Yukon. Royal B.C. Mus., Victoria, BC. 96pp. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2009. Species Summary: Plathemis lydia. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 4, 2026).