Error message
Unable to fetch location details at this time.
Spiny Baskettail Dragonfly
Epitheca spinigera
45.5264, -93.712
Field Notes
Description:
This dragonfly is about 4 cm (2 inches) long with a wingspan of approximately the same length. There are two related dragonflies with which it can be confused; the common baskettail and the beaverpond baskettail. The spiny can be distinquished from these other two species as having a short, sharp tooth on its claspers as shown by the arrowhead in the third photo. Seeing this spine is best accomplished in hand with the use of a hand lens.
Habitat:
Ponds and nearby uplands.
Notes:
These dragonflies may emerge in huge numbers. The second photo above is of a "teneral", a recently emerged immature. It's wings are still folded over its back. When the immature adult crawls from its larval case, the wings are pumped full of hemolymph, the insect's equivalent of blood, to unfurl them. Once the wings are fully extended, the hemolymph is absorbed back into the body and the wings settle into their normal position and stiffen.
Comments (6)