blue corporal

blue corporal (Ladona deplanata)
Photo © Mary Kay Rubey

FEATURES
A small skimmer dragonfly with a wide blue or brown body with dark streaks at all wing bases. Males have a black face with dark brown eyes and thorax. The front of the thorax and abdomen appear dusty blue above. Females have brown eyes, face, and thorax. A pale and narrow stripe is found at the sides of the thorax. Females have a brown abdomen with a black staggered stripe extending along the middle, widening towards the rear of each segment.

BEHAVIOR
Males perch on shore and logs. They are known to be aggressive towards other males. They patrol in low flights, fluttering and hovering over the water. Both males and females perch on the ground, in roads, clearings, paths, and sunny tree trunks or buildings with wings slightly drooping when elevated. Mating occurs briefly in flight. Egg laying happens afterward with females flying low at varying speeds, tapping the water, sometimes guarded by the male. They like ponds, lakes, slow streams, and open ditches sometimes bordered by woodlands or mud. They are common at glacial lakes or ponds with poor nutrient composition. They are found barely populating the southern tip of Illinois. Their range extends west into Texas, northeast into New England, and south stopping just before the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, but are found further south into Florida.

​Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Family: Libellulidae