Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Smoky Mountains
University of Tennessee Biological Field Station
August 8-10, 2008
Details...
 
Photos from the last gathering (Minnesota 2007)

TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Species Tachopteryx thoreyi - Gray Petaltail

Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)
Suborder Anisoptera (Dragonflies)
Family Petaluridae (Petaltails)
Genus Tachopteryx
Species thoreyi (Gray Petaltail)
Other Common Names
Thorey's Grayback
Size
Length 7.1-8.2 cm
Identification
Large, gray, perches on tree trunks in woodlands.
Range
Eastern North America: New York to northern Florida, west to Texas
Habitat
Deciduous forests with permanent seeps, usually on slopes
Season
April-July in southeastern US. Dunkle (1) states it occurs for about two months in any locale, mostly before trees leaf out. However seems to be most common in early June in Piedmont region of North Carolina, two months after trees have leafed out.
Food
Predatory on other insects
Life Cycle
Larvae live in permanent seeps, resemble dead leaves.
Remarks
Rather elusive, but can be easy to find in the proper habitat. Often perches on odonate watchers.