White Tail
Description
1 5/8-1 7/8", wingspan to 2 1/2-3". Head shiny brown. Thorax gray-brown, striped or spotted with white or yellow. Male's abdomen gleaming white; female's narrower and brown with a row of yellow spots. Wings have broad dark band near tip and a small black area at base. Naiad, to 7/8", is dark brown.
Habitat
Near ponds, slow streams, sheltered bays, and reedy shallows.
Range
Nova Scotia to Florida, west to California, north to British Columbia.
Food
Adult feeds on small flying insects.
Life Cycle
Female hovers over water, touching surface repeatedly with abdominal tip to wash off 25-50 eggs, which hatch in about 5 days. Naiads prey in still, silty bottom.
Other
 The female White Tail is often confused with the Twelve-spot Skimmer. The male White Tail is often seen resting with its head down, abdomen raised, wings forward and drooping. The smaller Western White Tail is found near pools in deserts and semideserts from Nebraska to northern Mexico and Arizona, northwest to British Columbia.
Picture
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