Montana Field Guide

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The habitat of the Hudsonian Whiteface consists of boggy or marshy ponds, sedge meadows, lakes with sand bottoms, and bogs and fens. Away from breeding sites females tend to be found in wooded clearings where they bask on sunny logs or on the ground (Dunkle 2000, Nikula et al. 2002, 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.

Male Hudsonian Whitefaces patrol and defend very small territories of about a square yard in size. These territories often shift throughout the day and males usually perch on sedge or grass stems rather than spend time in flight or hover. Copulation is at rest and occurs away from breeding site in the nearby forest. Females oviposit in flight over open water by tapping water surface with the tip of their abdomen usually with males hovering nearby (Nikula et al. 2002, Paulson 2009).