Bug FAQDesert Whitetail
Plathemis subornata · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae
Adults are found near desert ponds, lakes and seepage pools from April through October.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Mature males have a small dark spot near the wing base and a wide dark band across each wing, with lighter centers and a whitish-blue pruinose thorax. Females show a small dark spot near the wing base and two thick wavy brownish bands on each wing; their thorax and abdomen are gray-brown with yellow stripes and dash marks.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Body length ranges from 40 to 50 mm (about 1⅝ to 2 inches).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
In California they occur throughout all desert areas.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Naiads feed on aquatic insects, mosquito larvae, mayfly larvae, freshwater shrimp, small fish and tadpoles.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Naiads live among submerged aquatic grasses and sedges. They emerge as adults during the night.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from early July to early September. Their flight period can extend from April to October.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
They also occur in Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It is closely related to the common whitetail, another Plathemis species. The desert whitetail has more white on its wings than the common whitetail, which has much less.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 14 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New Mexico, California, Texas, Utah, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
When are desert whitetails active?
They fly from early July through early September, but can be seen as early as April and as late as October.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find desert whitetails?
Look near desert ponds, lakes and seepage pools; in California they occur throughout all desert areas.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I tell a male desert whitetail from a female?
Males have a small dark spot and a wide dark band on each wing with a whitish-blue thorax, while females have a small dark spot, two wavy brownish bands on the wings, and a gray-brown thorax with yellow stripes and dash marks.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Libellulidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_whitetail
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.