Montana Field Guide

A wide ranging western snaketail with a lightly marked thorax (Paulson 2009). Found in sandy to rocky streams and rivers throughout the state. Overlaps in the western part of the state with the Sinuous Sanketail, but can usually be found in smaller streams than this other species.

The habitat of the Pale Snaketail is usually sandy and rocky rivers and streams with moderate current in forested and open landscapes, as well as large sandy lakes in the northern part of their range (Dunkle 2000, Paulson 2009).

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.

In cooler temperatures, male Pale Snaketails patrol long reaches up and down shorelines usually near the head of riffles. However later in the day, they tend to perch in the shade more often than patrol. Copulation is lengthy and completed at rest. Female oviposit by repeated forays from rock or riffle perches out into water making making a single tap, then returning to their perch site (Dunkle 2000, Paulson 2009).