Desert Whitetail - Female
Plathemis subornata==Libellula subornata

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full dorsal view

Full lateral View
lateral view of Whitetail

Female Face
Female Face

Lateral View of Thorax and Abdomen
lateral of thorax and abdomen

Dorsal View of Thorax
Dorsal View of Thorax

Close-up of Thorax and First Two Segments
underside

Front of Face
Female face

Appendages
appendages

appendages

appendages







Photos  -  ©Nicky Davis
 Location  -  James Walter Fitzgerald Wild Bird Refuge, Tooele County, Utah, 9 August 2010

Characteristics
  • Male has pruinose abdomen
  • Female brown body with  yellow side dashes
  • Thorax has two yellow stripes on dorsal and two on each side
  • Females and immatures have a stripe at the wing base, a band at the nodus and another at inner side of the stigma
  • In males the space between nodus band and the outer band fills in with  slightly lighter brown and inner wing may turn white
  • Tip of wings are clear
  • Face is yellow
  • This one is 1 1/2"  long with a 2 inch wing span
Dennis Paulson verified identification
"Skimmers don't have ovipositors, but they have a genital opening in the back of segment 8 which is bordered by a pair of subgenital plates or vulvar laminae.  They are variously developed, and in species in which they are quite large, they support a ball of eggs before they are laid.   A good rule of thumb is that if you can't see male genitalia, it isn't a male.  Females of most skimmers have abdomens that are less tapered to a point  than in males."

Utah Range Map

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