I was delighted to spot several handsome Lancet Clubtail dragonflies (Phanogomphus exilis) during a recent visit to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, my first sightings of this species this season. As you can see from these two photos, Lancet Clubtails like to perch flat on the ground and I spotted both of these near the edge of the pond.
I love the bright blue eyes of Lancet Clubtails and the yellow flange near the tip of the abdomen, a feature that helps to distinguish Lancet Clubtails from the visually-similar Ashy Clubtails. Some members of the Clubtail family have large and obvious “clubtails,” but the one on the male Lancet Clubtails is relatively small—you have to look at the proper angle to see it well. I like the way that the shadow in the first photo makes it easy to see the enlarged area near the end of abdomen that constitutes the “clubtail.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
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