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flag-tailed spinyleg
flag-tailed spinyleg (Dromogomphus spoliatus) [female]
Photo © Mary Kay Rubey
flag-tailed spinyleg (Dromogomphus spoliatus) [male]
Photo © Mary Kay Rubey
Features and Behaviors
FEATURES
Flag-tailed spinyleg is known for its brightly marked yellow-orange clubtail. Males have blue or turquoise eyes and a yellow-to-tan face. The thorax is dull yellow with black diagonal striping. The abdomen is mostly yellow to white with large brown blotches, presenting the appearance of two black and white alternating rings on each segment. The seventh to ninth segments are yellow-orange with brown markings. Female shows the same coloration as males, but with less pronounced clubtail.
BEHAVIORS
Males perch elevated at the waterside, or low on rocks, their abdomen raised up towards the sun during midday, or hanging down when perched in shrubs. They fly out and frequently hover over the water. They like slow rivers or large muddy ponds. They are found in nearly all of Illinois, excluding the upper tenth of the state sharing a border with Wisconsin. They range south into Louisiana, Texas, northern Alabama, and the northwest corner of Georgia.
Illinois Range
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Family: Gomphidae
Illinois Status: uncommon, native
