Clubtails & Sanddragons
What are they?
There are not many species of this group in our area, which is fortunate as they can be difficult to tell apart. The clubtails get their collective name from the shape of the abdomen, which swells out laterally towards the distal end, giving them a clubbed shape. This is usually more obvious in males than females. Members of this group mostly hunt from low perches or the ground and are often found far from water in open, sandy areas or along sandy tracks.
Identification
The clubtails are relatively small dragonflies with well-marked bodies that breaks up the outline and often makes them hard to spot before they have flown away. They have rather small eyes compared with most other dragonflies. Sanddragons are similarly structured but tend to ne a little larger. For the clubtails, details of the markings at the distal tip of the abdomen are important and it is often important to check details of the external genitalia (which may mean catching the individual).
Dragonhunter Hagenius brevistylus
Length: 2.7-3.1 inches. Flight time: Late June to late September. A scarce species in Cape May County that appears to be confined to areas along the Tuckahoe River. A large species, about the size of a Green Darner but colored black and yellow. Males often fly with the distal tip of the abdomen hooked downward. A typical clubtail with relatively small head and eyes that don't meet on top of the head.
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Lancet Clubtail Gomphus exilis
Length: 1.7 inches. Flight time: Late April to mid August. A widespread and fairly common species in most of the county where there is sandy soil or sandy, woodland tracks. Also at the margins of lakes and ponds. Best told from other clubtails that may wander into the area by the rather square, yellowish patch on the top of the 9th abdominal segment.
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Common Sanddragon Progomphus obscurus
Length: 1.7-2.2 inches. Flight time: Late June to early September. An uncommon, or perhaps easily overlooked, species, known from a few sites in the north of Cape May County, around sandy lakes and streams. May be found away from water along woodland margins, field edges and sandy tracks. A blackish or dark chocolate-brown species with creamy yellow markings and a distinctly small head.
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