Common Whitetail / La lydienne
Plathemis lydia
Fundy Nature Notes, Quotes and Anecdotes 2
Common Whitetail, La lydienne
(Plathemis lydia)
Adult size: 38-44mm
Fundy First record: July 5th, 2013, Caribou Plain trail (Guelph U Bio-Bus, blurry but identifiable photo). Subsequently relocated by Denis Doucet on the same day, unable to photograph it. What may have been the same individual was photographed on July 18th less than two meters from the initial sighting.
Habitat/Status: This is a common species in the Canadian Maritimes. It can be found at virtually any slow moving or still waters with a muddy bottom and little clay, including marshes, ponds, stream pools, old beaver ponds, puddles, roadside ditches and rarely bogs.
Typical flight period: In the Canadian Maritimes, flies from late May to mid-October (May 24th -Nova Scotia to October 15th -Prince Edward Island).
ID hints: Young males and females of all ages are brown with a white, interrupted zig-zag pattern on the side of the abdomen. The abdomen and a small spot at the base of the hind wing in older males becomes coated in a white or very pale blue waxy coating known as pruinosity, which is the feature that gives the species its English name.
Nature Notes: This species is uncommon but regular in the park; however it is definitely rare in the bogs. Males often patrol and pugnaciously defend a territory that ranges in size from less than 20 m2 to over 150 m2. They chiefly defend it by raising their abdomen to interlopers while patrolling or while perched and guarding the territory. A submissive male will lower its abdomen and generally allow himself to be chased out by the territory’s “owner”, but two aggressive males may go at it for hours. Females that want to lay eggs in a particular area must mate with the male that controls that territory. After mating, the female will soon commence laying. While she is doing so, the male constantly “mate-guards” her by hovering above and behind her while she is occupied. He is on the look-out for competing males, who may actually swoop down and grab the female while she is laying and mate with her again. When this happens, the new mate will scoop out all the eggs she was about to lay that were fertilized by the previous male! Females lay their eggs by energetically striking the water in a rhythmic fashion, about once a second. This can actually send up egg-laden splashes some 30 cm into the air. She may lay 1000 eggs in a day and can mate every few days.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Denis Doucet, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Denis Doucet
- (c) Denis Doucet, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
More Info
iNaturalist.ca Map
| Family | Libellulidae |
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