United States and Canada
This is a smaller brown sylph with a pale-green thorax and black lateral thoracic stripes forming a IY or YY pattern. Its face is brown in females and young males but becomes metallic green in mature males. The femora are brown, becoming black distally along with the remainder of the leg. The wings are clear or with a wash of amber throughout. There is a dark spot basally in each wing. The abdomen is brown, darker on top, with lateral interrupted pale stripe on segments 1-5. There is a pair of pale oval spots dorsally on segment 7.
Size: Total length: 32-36 mm; abdomen: 25-28 mm; hindwing: 24-30 mm.
Similar Species (south-central US): Ivory-striped Sylph (M. imitans) has prominent pale frontal thoracic markings in the male and no frontal thoracic markings in the female. Clubskimmers (Brechmorhoga) are much larger and greener. Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) lacks a clubbed abdomen. Thornbush Dasher (Micrathyria hagenii) has a IYI lateral thoracic pattern. Three-striped Dasher (M. didyma) has a III lateral thoracic pattern and Spot-tailed Dasher (M. aequalis) is either pruinose gray or has a WII lateral thoracic pattern.
Habitat: Rocky streams and rivers.
Natural History: This species is very uncommon within our range. It is only known from a handful of counties in central Texas.
Distribution: Central Texas, Mexico and Central America south to Venezuela.
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).
