United States and Canada
The face and thorax are pale yellowish-green. The thorax is like Five-striped Leaftail (P. albrighti ) except the lateral thoracic stripes are narrower. The third lateral stripe ends ventrally and is never confluent with the midlateral stripe. The wings and abdomen similar to Five-striped Leaftail except in females, which have a nearly cylindrical abdomen, with only a weak expansion of the posterior segments laterally.
Size: Total length: 65-70 mm; abdomen: 49-56 mm; hindwing: 39-44 mm.
Similar Species (south-central US): This species can be distinguished from Five-striped Leaftail by characters given above and under that species description.
Habitat: Ponds and slow reaches of streams with muddy bottom and heavy vegetation.
Natural History: The Four-striped Leaftail is more widely distributed than the Five-striped Leaftail and is commonly found at livestock and artificial ponds, where males will perch high on grasses, facing the water. They are flighty, never staying perched for long, but often returning to their original perch after short feeding forays. Adults mature in open pastures of tall grass some distance from water.
Distribution: Southwestern U.S. and northeastern Mexico.
Source: Abbott, J.C. 2006-2010. OdonataCentral: An online resource for the distribution and identification of Odonata. Available at OdonataCentral.
Edited by Drew Weber (9/24/2015).
