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  • Common Whitetail, 1 of 6
    Photo 1 of 6

    (c) Greg Lasley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

  • Common Whitetail, 2 of 6
    Photo 2 of 6

    (c) Cameron Eckert, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

  • Common Whitetail, 3 of 6
    Photo 3 of 6

    (c) Ron Masters, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

  • Common Whitetail, 4 of 6
    Photo 4 of 6

    (c) Andrew Reding, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND)

  • Common Whitetail, 5 of 6
    Photo 5 of 6

    (c) SalvadorDalaiLama, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)

  • Common Whitetail, 6 of 6
    Photo 6 of 6

    (c) Michael J. Papay, some rights reserved (CC BY)

1 of 6 photos

Common Whitetail

Plathemis lydia

Worldwide
132,213 observations
Group
Insects
iNaturalist Wikipedia

About

The common whitetail or long-tailed skimmer (Plathemis lydia) is a common dragonfly across much of North America, with a striking and unusual appearance. The male's chunky white body (about 5 cm or 2 inches long), 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...

Summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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