United States and Canada
This is the largest, most common and widely distributed of our shadowdragons. It is also the most distinctive. The thorax is pale yellowis h-brown and interrupted middorsally by a pale carina. There is only a hint of yellow laterally around each spiracle. The wings are lightly to strongly spotted along their entire costal margin. There is a darker black spot at the base of each hindwing. The wingtips are generally darkened and the entire wing may become amber in males. The legs are pale. The abdomen is dark brown with a carinae outlined in black. The caudal appendages are pale and the male cerci bear a ventrally projecting tooth, when viewed laterally.
Size: Total length: 48-51 mm; abdomen: 37-41 mm; hindwing: 36-42 mm.
Similar Species (south-central US): The distinctive wing pattern will distinguish this species from our other shadowdragons. The spots along front wing margin in Umber Shadowdragon (N. obsoleta) don't extend beyond the nodus.
Habitat: Medium-sized turbid rivers and streams with strong current.
Natural History: This species comes out at dusk or dawn, often in large numbers, to feed on smaller flying insects. Their pale color makes them difficult to see against the sky, as they swarm 1.5 to 2.5 m off the ground. Mating pairs hang from branches or twigs in the shade. Egg laying generally occurs 30 minutes to 1 hour after the flight. Females generally lay eggs alone, and unguarded by males, by rapidly flying low over the water, occasionally pausing to release eggs at the surface, however, there is at least one report of a female lay eggs while attended by the male. Larvae have the unusual behavior of feigning death. The westernmost record for this species is from the Black River in New Mexico.
Distribution: Southern Great Plains.
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).
