Bug FAQMustached Clubtail
Hylogomphus adelphus · Order: Odonata · Family: Gomphidae
It lives near streams, rivers, and sometimes lake shorelines across the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Adults are most active in the afternoon and were formerly called Gomphus adelphus before 2018.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The abdomen shows yellow triangles on top and ends with a moderately wide, mostly black club. Males and females look alike, but females have more yellow on the abdomen.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It prefers streams and rivers with varied flow and rocky riffles. It can also be found at lakes with suitable shoreline.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are most active in the afternoon.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It occurs in southeastern Canada and the eastern United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Before a 2018 taxonomic revision it was known as Gomphus adelphus.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 18 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Michigan, Maine, New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Vermont, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Gomphidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hylogomphus_adelphus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.