Montana Field Guide

Help

Montana Field Guides

Home - Other Field Guides
- Kingdom - Animals - Animalia
  - Phylum - Insects, Springtails, Millipedes - Mandibulata
    - Class - Insects - Insecta
      - Order - Dragonflies / Damselflies - Odonata
        
        Family - Skimmer Dragonflies - Libellulidae
        
        Species - Common Whitetail - Plathemis lydia

Common Whitetail - Plathemis lydia

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S5

Agency Status
USFWS: none
USFS: none
BLM: none
CFWCS Tier: none

General Description

We do not yet have descriptive information on this species. Please try the buttons above to search for information from other sources.

General Distribution

Montana Range

Summary of Observations Submitted for Montana

Number of Observations: 59

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions

Relative Density

Recency

(Records associated with a range of dates are excluded from time charts)

Distribution Comments
Relatively rare in Montana except in the northwestern counties (Miller and Gustafson 1996).

Habitat

Ponds (Miller and Gustafson 1996).

Food Habits

Larvae feed on a wide variety of aquatic insects, such as mosquito larvae, other aquatic fly larvae, mayfly larvae, and freshwater shrimp. They will also eat very small fish and tadpoles. Adult- The dragonfly will eat almost any soft-bodied flying insect including mosquitoes, flies, small moths, mayflies, and flying ants or termites.

Additional Sources of Information Related to "Insects"

Citation for data on this website:
Common Whitetail — Plathemis lydia. Montana Field Guide. Retrieved on February 9, 2010, from http://FieldGuide.mt.gov/detail_IIODO45190.aspx