Common Whitetails

Not surprisingly in a dragonfly-rich environment, I met a couple Common Whitetails. Similar to the Slaty Skimmers, they are widespread because they're fairly flexible regarding habitat. I'm assuming the ones at my apartment complex use the Raritan River (about a mile away) for breeding.

The adult males are pretty distinctive, with the spots on their wings and the sometimes vibrantly white pruinose on their abdomens.

July 23, 2021 at the Plainsboro Preserve
Photo 148592162, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

The females aren't as easy to identify. Apparently they look very similar to Twelve-spotted Skimmer females, with the main difference being the Common Whitetails have light yellow spots on the side of the abdominal segments while a Twelve-spotted Skimmer would have about the same color but it'd show up as a continuous line.

July 23, 2021 at the Plainsboro Preserve
Photo 148594024, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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