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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) » Dragonflies (Anisoptera) » Skimmers (Libellulidae) » Corporals (Ladona)

Genus Ladona - Corporals

Chalk-fronted Corporal - Ladona julia - male

April Dragon 1 - Ladona deplanata - female

Chalk-fronted Corporal Dragonfly (Ladona julia) - Ladona julia - male

Chalk fronted corporal - Ladona julia - female

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)

Suborder Anisoptera (Dragonflies)

Family Libellulidae (Skimmers)

Genus Ladona (Corporals)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Ladona Needham, 1897. Taxonomic notes:

members formerly placed in Libellula

Explanation of Names

Apparently a proper name, an American combination of La-, the(?), plus Don(n)a, Italian, lady. Perhaps named in honor of a person, or Ladona, Pennsylvania? (Based on Internet searches.)

The common name "Corporal" stems from the conspicuous shoulder stripes in females and non-pruinescent males, which to someone apparently resemble the insignia of a corporal in the US military.

Numbers

University of Puget Sound, Worldwide list of Odonata lists six species worldwide: deplanata, depressa, exusta, fulva, julia, and pontica.

There are apparently three North American species (deplantata, exusta, julia), according to Gloria Mundi Press.

Identification

Distinctive stocky body shape and aforementioned shoulder stripes. Almost always perches on the ground or other large flat surfaces.

Habitat

Breed in permanent ponds; adults frequently seen in forests away from water, perching on leaf litter.

Season

Early; in North Carolina they are the first Libellulid to appear, in late March or early April, usually disappearing by June.

Print References

Artiss T, Schultz TR, Polhemus DA, Simon C.

Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the dragonfly genera Libellula, Ladona, and Plathemis (Odonata: Libellulidae) based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I and 16S rRNA sequence data. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2001 Mar;18(3):348-61.

Kambhampati and Charlton. Phylogenetic relationship among Libellula, Ladona and Plathemis (Odonata: Libellulidae) based on DNA sequence of mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. Systematic Entomology, Volume 24 Issue 1 Page 37, January 1999. (On-line Abstract)

Internet References

University of Michigan

Contributed by Joshua Stuart Rose on 7 August, 2005 - 9:01pm
Additional contributions by cotinis
Last updated 18 April, 2011 - 6:30am

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