Desert whitetail facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Desert whitetail |
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| Scientific classification | |
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Libellulidae
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| Genus: |
Plathemis
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| Species: |
P. subornata
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| Binomial name | |
| Plathemis subornata (Hagen, 1861)
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The desert whitetail (Plathemis subornata) is a fascinating type of dragonfly found in desert areas. It's known for its unique wing patterns. This dragonfly belongs to a large family of dragonflies called Libellulidae. Sometimes, scientists also place it in the genus Libellula.
Contents
How to Spot a Desert Whitetail
The desert whitetail is a medium-sized dragonfly. It usually measures about 1 5/8 to 2 inches (40 to 50 mm) long. Its wingspan can be around 65 to 75 mm. This dragonfly has a wide body, called an abdomen.
What's cool is that mature males, females, and young males look different!
Adult Dragonflies
- Mature Male: Each wing of a mature male desert whitetail has a small, dark spot near its base. There's also a large, dark band across the middle of the wing. This band is lighter in the center than on its edges. The area between the wing's base and this band might look cloudy and white. The male's body, especially its thorax (the middle part), is a whitish-blue color.
- Female: Female desert whitetails have a small, dark spot near the base of each wing. They also have two thick, wavy, brownish bands across their wings. The very tip of their wings can sometimes look cloudy and yellow. The female's body is grayish-brown. Each side of her thorax has two yellowish stripes. On top of her abdomen, you can see two lines of thick yellow dashes.
- Immature Male: Young males have wings that look a lot like mature males. However, their bodies are colored more like females.
Young Dragonflies (Naiads)
The young form of the desert whitetail is called a naiad. It's medium-sized, about 21 to 25 mm long. Its abdomen is rounded, making it look short and chunky. This shape helps it "sprawl" or spread out.
The naiad has a blunt hook on top of its abdomen segments two through six. The tallest hook is on segment four. It also has a single, backward-pointing spine on each side of its eighth and ninth abdomen segments.
Where Do They Live?
The desert whitetail dragonfly can be found in many places. These include Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Washington in the United States. You can also find them in Mexico.
Their Favorite Places
These dragonflies like to live near water in desert areas. You can spot them near ponds, lakes, and small pools of water that seep up from the ground. In California, they live in all the desert regions.
When Do They Fly?
Desert whitetails usually fly from early July to early September. Sometimes, they have a longer flight season, from April all the way to October.
What Do They Eat?
Adult Diet
Adult desert whitetails are skilled hunters. They will eat almost any soft-bodied flying insect they can catch. This includes mosquitoes, flies, butterflies, moths, mayflies, and even flying ants or termites.
Naiad Diet
The naiad (young dragonfly) of the desert whitetail lives in water. It eats many different aquatic insects. This includes mosquito larvae, other types of fly larvae, mayfly larvae, and freshwater shrimp. They also eat small fish and tadpoles.
Their Life in Nature
Desert whitetail naiads live hidden among underwater grasses and plants. They don't actively chase their food. Instead, they wait quietly for prey to swim by. This "wait and ambush" strategy also helps protect them from other animals that might want to eat them.
These naiads grow and then emerge from the water as adult dragonflies at night. Adult dragonflies generally fly during the summer and fall months. Sometimes, they can even be seen from spring to winter. Adult desert whitetails often perch on twigs and rocks. This is where they wait to hunt for their next meal.
How They Reproduce
Male desert whitetails choose and protect special areas where they want to breed. After a male and female mate, the female flies off by herself to lay her eggs. She lays her eggs by dipping the tip of her abdomen into the shallow water of desert pools and seeps. She does this while hovering just above the water's surface.
Similar Dragonflies
The desert whitetail is related to the common whitetail. These two are the only species in the genus Plathemis. The common whitetail looks similar, but it has much less white on its wings compared to the desert whitetail.
Conservation Status
Right now, the desert whitetail species is not considered endangered. However, the number of desert whitetails is slowly going down. This means they could become a threatened species in the future if their populations continue to decline.
