Minnesota Dragonfly

Mustached Clubtail

Hylogomphus adelphus

The Mustached Clubtail was moved from the genus Gomphus to the new genus Hylogomphus. They look similar to the Green-faced Clubtail except that the Mustached Club has much bolder facial markings than the Green-faced Club

Identification

Field Marks
  • Average adult size is approximately 1.7 inches
  • Pale yellowish face with bold crossline and additional bold facial markings.
  • Facial marking make the species look like they have a mustache and goatee
  • Emerald green eyes
  • Yellowish thorax with the first pair of thoracic stripes bold and connected at the top
  • Broken third thoracic stripe and bold fourth
  • Black abdomen with small yellow triangular top spots
  • Very little marking on side of segment 8 and 9
  • Prominent club with segment 8 longer than segment 9 making the club look rounded from above

Click on photos above for a close-up view.

Natural History

Behavior

Mustached clubtails can often be found perched on rocks in or around streams and river typically where the current is swift or perched on the leaves of overhanging trees and bushes. They also frequently over over riffles or rapids

Habitat

Medium sized streams and rivers with a lot of riffles and rapids, also lakes with an exposed shoreline

Reproduction

Females lay eggs by dipping their abdomen into rapids and riffles allowing the eggs to get carried by the swift current to slower moving water where the nymphs will hatch an grow. While laying eggs the female may stop and perch on the rocks to produce eggs before going back to dipping

Range Maps

Click on the icons above for this species' range maps

Click here for county and state checklists from Odonata Central.

Range maps and checklists courtesy of Odonata Central. Copyright © 2016 OdonataCentral. All Rights Reserved. Abbott, J.C. 2006-2018. OdonataCentral: An online resource for the distribution and identification of Odonata. Available at www.odonatacentral.org.