Leucorrhinia caudalis
• English name: Lilypad Whiteface
• German name: Zierliche Moosjungfer
• French name: Leucorrhine à large queue
• Dutch name: Sierlijke witsnuitlibel
• Swedish name: Bred kärrtrollslända
• Norwegian name: Vannlilje-torvlibelle
• Finnish name: Lummelampikorento
• Danish name: Åkande kærguldsmed
• Italian name: N/A
• Czech name: vážka široká
• Slovenian name: Mrtvični spreletavec
• Bulgarian name: N/A
Leucorrhinia caudalis
Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
| General | • a medium-sized species of (central and) north-eastern Europe | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Libellulidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Leucorrhinia caudalis (Charpentier, 1840) | |
| Name genus | • Leucorrhinia: feminine form of an artificial adjective derived from Grk. λευκός = white +; ῥίς; ῥινός = nose | |
| Name species | • caudalis: from Lat. caudalis, -is, -e = concerning the tail; [cauda = tail] ⇒ for the male's flattened and club-shaped abdomen | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • bogs, ponds and lakes | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 33-37 mm; hindwing: 29-32 mm | |
| Notes | • libellulids are 'sitters': males spend a lot of time perched - in this case - on floating leaves, waiting for females | |
| • often sits on lilypads and similar large floating leaves | ||
| Both sexes | Head | ➤ the face is white |
| • the eyes are grey-brown | ||
| Abdomen | ➤ the appendages are white | |
| ➤ the abdomen is clearly club-shaped | ||
| Wings | • the hindwing bears a small dark patch at the base | |
| ➤ the pterostigma is usually white | ||
| Male | Thorax | • the thorax is dark brown (in immature males: black with a yellow antehumeral stripe and yellow spots on the side) |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is black with a whitish pruinescence on S3-S5 (in immature males: black with yellow spots on S3-S5) | |
| Female | Thorax | • the thorax is dark with a yellow antehumeral stripe and yellow spots on the side |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is black with yellow spots, mainly on S3-S5 | |
| Photographs | • our photos below were made in Bavaria, Finland and France |
LineDrawing: the male's abdomen in dorsal view.
Leucorrhinia albifrons (1, 2) and L. caudalis (3, 4); abdomen
Note: in L. albifrons the male (1) and female (2) abdomen are only slightly club-shaped. In L. caudalis both the male (3) and female (4) abdomen are clearly club-shaped.
L. albifrons (top) and L. caudalis (bottom); pterostigma
Note: in albifrons the pterostigma is black on top and underneath. In caudalis it is white on top but often looks dark underneath.
Lilypad Whiteface (Leucorrhinia caudalis)
Male abdomen in dorsal view
Drawing by Ruth Ilka Nüß
© 2013 Lehmann & Nüß and DragonflyPix.com
