The Common Whitetail is an extremely common dragonfly throughout North America, immediately recognized by the male's brilliant chalk-white abdomen contrasting with his brown-and-black banded wings. Females are brown with white lateral spots. Males use their white abdomen in threat and courtship displays. It adapts to nearly any open water habitat.
Best time to see a Common Whitetail
The best time to see a Common Whitetail is May–July, when about 71% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 108,749 research-grade iNaturalist observations.
Not certain it is a Common Whitetail? What bug is this? walks through what to check first and the lookalikes that catch people out.
Recent Common Whitetail sightings near you
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