Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
My good Youtube friend Shaun who lives way over there at Duncan on Vancouver Island tells us,-
' Here is a short video of a Dragonfly which I had not seen before, even if its called the Common Whitetail. In fact we are not seeing much wildlife at the moment a lack of birds not sure if its the heat or maybe the smoke from the fires.'
The Common Whitetail
or long-tailed skimmer (Plathemis lydia) is a common dragonfly across much of North America, with a striking and unusual appearance. The male's chunky white body (about 5 cm (2.0 in) long), combined with the brownish-black bands on its otherwise translucent wings, give it a checkered look. Females have a brown body and a different pattern of wing spots, closely resembling that of female Libellula pulchella, the twelve-spotted skimmer. Whitetail females can be distinguished by their smaller size, shorter bodies, and white zigzag abdominal stripes; the abdominal stripes of L. puchella are straight and yellow.
My good Youtube friend Shaun who lives way over there at Duncan on Vancouver Island tells us,-
' Here is a short video of a Dragonfly which I had not seen before, even if its called the Common Whitetail. In fact we are not seeing much wildlife at the moment a lack of birds not sure if its the heat or maybe the smoke from the fires.'
The Common Whitetail
or long-tailed skimmer (Plathemis lydia) is a common dragonfly across much of North America, with a striking and unusual appearance. The male's chunky white body (about 5 cm (2.0 in) long), combined with the brownish-black bands on its otherwise translucent wings, give it a checkered look. Females have a brown body and a different pattern of wing spots, closely resembling that of female Libellula pulchella, the twelve-spotted skimmer. Whitetail females can be distinguished by their smaller size, shorter bodies, and white zigzag abdominal stripes; the abdominal stripes of L. puchella are straight and yellow.
