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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) » Dragonflies (Anisoptera) » Petaltails (Petaluridae) » Tachopteryx » Gray Petaltail (Tachopteryx thoreyi)

Species Tachopteryx thoreyi - Gray Petaltail

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Gray Petaltail - Tachopteryx thoreyi - male Gray Petaltail - Tachopteryx thoreyi Odonata 10 - Tachopteryx thoreyi Large Dragonfly - Tachopteryx thoreyi - female Tachopteryx nymph - Tachopteryx thoreyi Large Dragonfly - Tachopteryx thoreyi Dragonfly sp. - Tachopteryx thoreyi - female Gray Petaltail - Tachopteryx thoreyi
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
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
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Tachopteryx thoreyi (Hagen in Selys, 1858)
Size
Length 7.1-8.2 cm
Identification
Large, gray, perches on tree trunks in woodlands.
Detail of "petaltail" of male:
  
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.
Print References
Dunkle, p 31, plate 1 (1)
Nikula (2)
Dunkle (3)
Internet References
Odonata of the United States--range map only
NJ Odes
Giff Beaton
Digital Dragonflies
Odonata Central (Texas)
Works Cited
1.Dragonflies Through Binoculars: A Field Guide to Dragonflies of North America
Sidney W. Dunkle. 2000. Oxford Press.
2.Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies
Donald and Lillian Stokes. 2002. Little, Brown and Company.
3.Dragonflies of the Florida Peninsula, Bermuda, and the Bahamas
Sidney W. Dunkle. 1989. Scientific Publishers.
Contributed by Cotinis on 1 June, 2004 - 6:45pm
Last updated 29 May, 2010 - 5:48am

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