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a better place for females to lay their eggs. This competition for territory leads to a dominance hierarchy, where individual males recognize and maintain territorial boundaries. In this hierarchy, dominant males have an advantage of mating with females over their subordinate counterparts. However, there was no difference in reproductive success of disperser males and non-disperser males. Disperser males are those that leave a territory in search of a new one. The quality of the territory had a larger impact on reproductive success than the duration of time a male spent occupying a single territory. While it is clear that females generally fail to discriminate against males, it is not clear why they do not, given the opportunity. One such reason may be that rapid mating was selected for over evolutionary time. Predation on females during mating periods, as well as risks of males losing their territories during the process of mating also may be important factors as to why females fail to discriminate.
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males with a smaller FMR can be contributed to a decrease in the ability to compete in aerial contests. However, a tradeoff must be made in order to have a larger FMR. Males that were found to have the highest FMR had the least amount of gut contents, and in turn less fat reserves. This means that the male dragonflies are making a tradeoff between flight ability and longevity, which may affect long-term mating success.
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correlated with the frequency of male harassment that occurs during the oviposition. However, males tend to guard less intensely over the course of the oviposition process, and will stop guarding entirely once it has finished. This behavior of mate-guarding relates to the territoriality of dragonflies. Oviposit usually follows shortly after the male has transferred his sperm.
264:, with a striking and unusual appearance. The male's chunky white body (about 5 cm or 2 inches long), combined with the brownish-black bands on its otherwise translucent wings, give it a checkered look. Females have a brown body and a different pattern of wing spots, closely resembling that of female
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dragonflies' body mass is accounted for by flight muscle, and is one of the highest flight-muscle ratio (FMR, found by flight-muscle mass/body weight) of an animal. Males with smaller FMRs have a slight decrease in mating success when compared to their counterparts. This decrease in success found in
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appears to be of little importance. It seems that phenotypic characteristics such as body mass, wing length, and first day of reproduction do not directly affect selection in either males or females. Male-male competition on the other hand is very important, as males fight for territories that offer
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dragonflies will go to ponds in order to oviposit (lay eggs). Male dragonflies that are defending mating territories at the ponds will then attempt to mate with the female dragonflies. While the females are at the pond to oviposit, they will actively discriminate against the males attempting to mate
421:
may deposit her eggs in multiple locations, in order to avoid having all of her eggs eaten at once. Often this involves flipping her eggs with her abdomen so that the eggs are widely dispersed, as shown in the accompanying video. Females may also deposit their eggs in smaller bodies of water, where
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The act of copulation begins with the male clasping the neck of the female. The female then bends her abdomen forward into the secondary genitalia of the male, which is located on the second abdominal segment. Once the female has moved into this position (known as the "wheel position"), the male is
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dragonflies will perform "non-contact mate-guarding throughout oviposition". During this time, the male dragonflies will hover roughly 0.5-1m away from their mate, and chase off any rival males that may be attempting to mate with the female. The intensity at which males guard females is positively
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Females must find a suitable position to lay their eggs, as there are many factors that affect the success of the eggs. One such factor is temperature. A study found that temperature had incontestable effects on both embryogenic rate and hatching success in
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are adapted to swift flight that is made possible by the presence of broad wings and powerful muscles that move them. This means that there is a need for a plentiful supply of oxygen in order to work the muscles. In order to meet this oxygen requirement,
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with them, rejecting up to 48.9% of all mating attempts. The females prefer to oviposit in the middle of the day, and will actively look for particular parts of the pond to find a more suitable place to lay their eggs. While male rejection is quite high,
300:, common whitetails often rest on objects near the water, and sometimes on the ground. Males are territorial, holding a 10-to-30-metre stretch (33 to 98 ft) of the water's edge, and patrolling it to drive off other males. The white
677:
Walter D. Koenig and
Stephen S. Albano, Lifetime reproductive success, selection, and the opportunity for selection in the White-Tailed skimmer Plathemis lydia (Odonata: Libellulidae) Evolution volume 41, issue 1 (1987):
438:, spend most of their life cycle as aquatic larvae or nymphs, during which there is up to a 99.9% mortality rate. The two most common sources of mortality during the aquatic stage of life are predation and desiccation.
729:
Halverson, T. "Temperature dependent embryogenesis in Aeshna tuberculifera Walker and
Plathemis lydia (Drury) under field and laboratory conditions (Anisoptera: Aeshnidae, Libellulidae)." Odonatologica 12.4 (1983):
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able to remove the sperm of any prior mates, and transfer his own sperm to the female. Due to the need for the female to enter the wheel position, males cannot force themselves onto females. Post mating, male
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are equipped with a complex tracheal system which belongs to the peripneustic type in which the prothoracic and abdominal stigmata are present but not functional through the larva stage of life. The
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Paul J. Campanella and Larry L. Wolf, Temporal leks as a mating system in a temperate zone dragonfly (Odonata: Anisopter) I: Plathemis lydia (Drury), Behaviour volume 51, issue 1 (1974): 49-87
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and other small flying insects over ponds, marshes, and slow-moving rivers in most regions except the higher mountain regions. Periods of activity vary between regions; for example in
270:, the twelve-spotted skimmer. Whitetail females can be distinguished by their smaller size, shorter bodies, and white zigzag abdominal stripes; the abdominal stripes of
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nymph is aquatic, and thus do not use their wings during this period of their life, which accounts for the lack of function of the prothoracic and abdominal stigmata.
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Victoria E. McMillian, Variable mate-guarding behavior in the dragonfly
Plathemis lydia (Odonata: Libellulidae) Animal Behaviour Volume 41, Issue 6 (1991): 979-987.
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Due to the need to fight off other males in order to be more successful in breeding, male dragonflies have developed extensive flight muscles. The majority of male
746:
Buskirk, Ruth E., and Karen J. Sherman. "The influence of larval ecology on oviposition and mating strategies in dragonflies." Florida
Entomologist (1985): 39-51.
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327:. Because of their abundance, whitetail naiads are in turn an important food source for various fish, frogs, and birds, and also for other aquatic insects.
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711:
Walter D. Koenig, Levels of Female choice in the white-tailed skimmer
Plathemis lydia (Odonata: Libellulidae) Behaviour volume 199, issue 3 (1991): 193-224
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James H. Marden , "Bodybuilding
Dragonflies: Costs and Benefits of Maximizing Flight Muscle," Physiological Zoology 62, no. 2 (Mar. - Apr., 1989): 505-521.
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often deposit their eggs in water, mud, or even vegetation as these are often suitable locations that increase the success of the eggs. Female
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Johnson, Clifford (1962). "A Study of
Territoriality and Breeding Behavior in Pachydiplax longipennis Burmeister (Odonata:Libellulidae)".
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Koenig, Walter D. (1991). "Levels of Female choice in the white-tailed skimmer
Plathemis lydia (Odonata: Libellulidae)".
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The nymphs are dark green or brown, but are usually found covered in algae. They feed on aquatic invertebrates such as
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employ many strategies when it comes to deciding on a suitable location to deposit their eggs. A female
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Mead, Kurt. (2009) Dragonflies of the North Woods, Second
Edition, Duluth, MN:Kollath+Stensaas Publ.
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then enter the adult stage of life, which only lasts a few weeks. During the adult stage of life,
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have limited influence on the survival of offspring because they do not provide parental care.
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341:. This matter has been debated at least since the end of the nineteenth century. Recent
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Scott, G. G. (1905). "The
Distribution of Tracheae in the Nymph of Plathemis lydia".
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Some authorities classify the whitetails, including the common whitetail, in
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fish are less likely to occur. Once the eggs have been deposited, female
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evidence suggests that separation of the whitetails from the rest of
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621:(3/4). Southwestern Association of Naturalists: 191–197.
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mate and select suitable sites to deposit their eggs.
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815:Citizen science observations for Common whitetail
293:, the adults are active from April to September.
319:, and also on small aquatic vertebrates such as
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285:The common whitetail can be seen hawking for
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1073:Insects of the United States
615:The Southwestern Naturalist
391:Ovipositing + mate-guarding
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579:Dunkle, Sidney W. (2000).
1088:Insects described in 1773
274:are straight and yellow.
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69:Scientific classification
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1093:Taxa named by Dru Drury
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357:Every few days, female
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230:Libellula trimaculata
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27:Species of dragonfly
267:Libellula pulchella
248:long-tailed skimmer
531:Female ovipositing
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1068:Insects of Canada
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830:Taxon identifiers
797:"Plathemis lydia"
470:Additional images
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991:NatureServe
952:iNaturalist
862:Wikispecies
819:iNaturalist
364:mate choice
272:L. puchella
49:Adult male
1052:Categories
806:6 February
565:2024-02-24
537:References
430:Life cycle
291:California
287:mosquitoes
136:Anisoptera
106:Arthropoda
650:Behaviour
347:Libellula
339:Plathemis
335:Libellula
296:Like all
258:dragonfly
164:Species:
157:Plathemis
92:Kingdom:
86:Eukaryota
996:2.112429
983:51280160
913:BugGuide
889:BioLib:
847:Wikidata
730:367-373.
464:P. lydia
460:P. lydia
444:P. lydia
440:P. lydia
424:P. lydia
419:P. lydia
415:P. lydia
411:P. lydia
407:P. lydia
398:P. lydia
321:tadpoles
317:crayfish
298:perchers
205:Synonyms
142:Family:
102:Phylum:
96:Animalia
82:Domain:
944:4302510
853:Q141351
635:3668841
450:Anatomy
325:minnows
306:abdomen
304:on the
198:, 1773)
152:Genus:
126:Odonata
122:Order:
116:Insecta
112:Class:
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970:101809
931:131397
892:229339
877:ARKive
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483:Female
353:Mating
313:mayfly
1022:88303
1009:70400
957:84549
905:32807
678:22-36
631:JSTOR
332:genus
196:Drury
1004:NCBI
978:IUCN
965:ITIS
939:GBIF
900:BOLD
808:2006
585:ISBN
519:Male
495:Male
323:and
242:The
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
