Pachydiplax longipennis (Burmeister, 1839) - Blue Dasher
Notes - References
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Page last updated: 28 August 1998 (EB)
Notes on Pachydiplax longipennis in Michigan
Pachyiplax longipennis (Fig. 1, above) is widely distributed in North America, and the species reaches Michigan in the northernmost part of its range. Though no records are known from the UP, species is found throughout the southern LP (Fig. 2).
The larval body is smooth, their broad head distinctly characterized with a prominent dark ridge running mesad from the mesoposterior part of the eye, and prominent lateral spines on the abdomen (Walker and Corbet 1975).
Larvae are found in lakes and ponds as well as in slow sections and backwater areas of streams. Bick (1950) in Mississippi collected larvae from standing water with a mud bottom, in ponds, borrow pits or creek pot holes. Musser (1962) collected larvae in Utah from aquatic vegetation along the edge of a spring-formed pond. Larvae emerge from late May through probably July. Populations in Michigan are probably univoltine, as Paulson and Jenner (1971) found overwintering larvae in North Carolina, but populations probably have overlapping generations further south in its range (Penn 1951).
Links on the ecology and biology of
Pachydiplax longipennis:
none found as of 22 February 1998
Bick, G. H. 1950. The dragonflies of Mississippi (Odonata: Anisoptera). American Midland Naturalist 43:66-78.
Brauer, F. 1868. Verzeichniss der bis jetzt bekannten Neuropteren im Sinne Linne's. Verh. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 18:359-416, 711-742.
Burmeister, H. 1839. Handbuch der Entomolgie. Vol. 2. Enslin: Berlin. pp 397-1050.
Musser, R. J. 1962. Dragonfly nymphs of Utah (Odonata: Anisoptera). University of Utah, Biological Series 12(6). 66 pp.
Paulson, D. R., and C. E. Jenner. 1971. Population structure in overwintering larval Odonata in North Carolina in relation to adult flight season. Ecology 52:96-107.
Penn, G. H. 1951. Seasonal variation in the adult size of Pachydiplax longipennis (Burmeister) (Odonata, Libellulidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 44(2):193-197.
Walker, E. M., and J. S. Corbet. 1975. The Odonata of Canada and Alaska, Vol. 3. University of Toronto Press: Toronto. xvi + 308 pp.