Insects › Skimmers
Common Whitetail
Plathemis lydia
32 photos
Study shows up to four per card, from different observers, so you learn the species rather than one picture. Heart the good ones and swap any you do not like.
Photos you add are credited to you, and you keep the copyright.
Easily confused with
Twelve-spotted SkimmerLibellula pulchella
Widow SkimmerLibellula luctuosa
Prince BaskettailEpitheca princeps
Banded PennantCelithemis fasciata
Eight-spotted SkimmerLibellula forensis
Filigree SkimmerPseudoleon superbus
Painted SkimmerLibellula semifasciata
Band-winged DragonletErythrodiplax umbrata
Study checks a spoken answer against these, and tells you which one you named.
Where it is recorded
| United States | 105,943 |
|---|---|
| Texas | 18,610 |
| Canada | 15,538 |
| Ohio | 14,758 |
| Ontario | 11,068 |
| Virginia | 6,329 |
| North Carolina | 5,926 |
| Maryland | 5,425 |
| Illinois | 3,896 |
| New Jersey | 3,864 |
Counts show where people looked, not only where it lives.
Traits
Physical
- Aquatic larvaLarval stage lives in water before becoming terrestrialFrom its classification
- ExoskeletonHas a hard external skeletonFrom its classification
Classification
| Kingdom | Animals · Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropods · Arthropoda |
| Class | Insects · Insecta |
| Order | Dragonflies and Damselflies · Odonata |
| Family | Skimmers · Libellulidae |
| Genus | Whitetails · Plathemis |
Sources
- Names, taxonomy and observation counts: www.inaturalist.org
- Photos and recordings: the creator and source are on each one.
- How much to rely on each source
Remember the name next time.
Practise Common Whitetail with real photos from different observers. Say the name out loud, and it comes back just before you would forget it.