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Dragonflies and damselfliesIn Ohio

Common Whitetail

Plathemis lydia (Drury, 1773)

Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia)
(c) Greg Lasley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Greg Lasley · CC BY-NC 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Odonata
Family
Libellulidae
Genus
Plathemis
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Range

Where it is recorded

Season shown in 38 of Ohio's 88 counties. Explore Ohio

  • No result yet (0)
  • Recorded, too few records for a result (18)
  • Recorded, season not shown (32)
  • Season shown (38)
Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files, 1:500,000. Show as a table
Counties as a table
Common Whitetail by Ohio county: records and mapped range
CountyRecords
Adams County69 · Recorded, season not shown
Allen CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ashland County23 · Recorded, season not shown
Ashtabula County129 · Season shown
Athens County39 · Recorded, season not shown
Auglaize CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Belmont County23 · Season shown
Brown County29 · Recorded, season not shown
Butler County52 · Recorded, season not shown
Carroll CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Champaign County326 · Season shown
Clark County124 · Season shown
Clermont County107 · Recorded, season not shown
Clinton County25 · Recorded, season not shown
Columbiana County28 · Season shown
Coshocton County71 · Recorded, season not shown
Crawford County52 · Season shown
Cuyahoga County243 · Season shown
Darke County34 · Recorded, season not shown
Defiance CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Delaware County95 · Season shown
Erie County31 · Season shown
Fairfield County38 · Recorded, season not shown
Fayette County26 · Recorded, season not shown
Franklin County591 · Season shown
Fulton CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Gallia CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Geauga County83 · Season shown
Greene County345 · Season shown
Guernsey County22 · Season shown
Hamilton County166 · Season shown
Hancock County40 · Season shown
Hardin CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Harrison County43 · Season shown
Henry CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Highland CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Hocking County29 · Season shown
Holmes County33 · Recorded, season not shown
Huron County27 · Season shown
Jackson County23 · Recorded, season not shown
Jefferson County42 · Season shown
Knox County37 · Recorded, season not shown
Lake County174 · Season shown
Lawrence CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Licking County85 · Season shown
Logan County87 · Season shown
Lorain County196 · Recorded, season not shown
Lucas County247 · Season shown
Madison County63 · Recorded, season not shown
Mahoning County70 · Season shown
Marion County44 · Season shown
Medina County77 · Season shown
Meigs County27 · Recorded, season not shown
Mercer County25 · Recorded, season not shown
Miami County34 · Recorded, season not shown
Monroe CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Montgomery County164 · Season shown
Morgan County22 · Recorded, season not shown
Morrow County83 · Recorded, season not shown
Muskingum County33 · Season shown
Noble CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ottawa CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Paulding CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Perry County22 · Season shown
Pickaway County40 · Recorded, season not shown
Pike CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Portage County150 · Season shown
Preble CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Putnam CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Richland County43 · Recorded, season not shown
Ross County34 · Recorded, season not shown
Sandusky County29 · Season shown
Scioto County27 · Recorded, season not shown
Seneca County103 · Season shown
Shelby County41 · Season shown
Stark County150 · Season shown
Summit County412 · Season shown
Trumbull County49 · Recorded, season not shown
Tuscarawas County41 · Season shown
Union County38 · Recorded, season not shown
Van Wert County26 · Recorded, season not shown
Vinton County31 · Recorded, season not shown
Warren County56 · Season shown
Washington County20 · Season shown
Wayne County86 · Recorded, season not shown
Williams CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Wood County51 · Recorded, season not shown
Wyandot County39 · Recorded, season not shown

No mapped range from the range source used, the USGS Gap Analysis Project, which maps land vertebrates only.

Season

When it is recorded

In Ohio

Mid-May to late August, middle week Jun 28 – Jul 4

Show over the bars
Recording in Ohio · records of all species each week, 1,691,199 in all

Records per week from 9,600 records in 10 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025. Shows when people recorded it, not how common it is. The grey bars show how many records of all species were made here each week, so you can see when recording itself was high or low; the season is not adjusted by them.

Recorded on 1,235 dates. Latest record: October 2025.

Show as a table
Records of Common Whitetail in Ohio each week, and records of all species
WeekRecords of Common WhitetailYears recordedRecords of all species
Jan 4–10006,211
Jan 11–17005,146
Jan 18–24004,645
Jan 25–31004,698
Feb 1–7006,023
Feb 8–14005,888
Feb 15–21005,436
Feb 22–28006,846
Mar 1–7008,321
Mar 8–140010,384
Mar 15–210012,620
Mar 22–280013,949
Mar 29 – Apr 40019,661
Apr 5–110026,860
Apr 12–181139,925
Apr 19–259441,623
Apr 26 – May 231656,391
May 3–9831052,952
May 10–16173953,785
May 17–234761057,698
May 24–307311054,651
May 31 – Jun 67621053,099
Jun 7–138601053,700
Jun 14–207561056,625
Jun 21–276601055,361
Jun 28 – Jul 47421058,477
Jul 5–116571061,336
Jul 12–186801064,722
Jul 19–255441069,753
Jul 26 – Aug 14591059,416
Aug 2–84441059,712
Aug 9–153681055,994
Aug 16–223051054,328
Aug 23–292831051,772
Aug 30 – Sep 5220957,167
Sep 6–121411059,075
Sep 13–19731054,543
Sep 20–26811045,860
Sep 27 – Oct 340843,180
Oct 4–108437,841
Oct 11–179430,824
Oct 18–243221,156
Oct 25–311119,021
Nov 1–70014,172
Nov 8–140012,621
Nov 15–21007,965
Nov 22–28008,136
Nov 29 – Dec 5006,083
Dec 6–12006,004
Dec 13–19005,423
Dec 20–26005,661
Dec 27 – Jan 2008,459

Reported as an adult

Usually reported as an adult mid-May to early September, middle week Jun 28 – Jul 4.

From 1,666 records that are marked as adults. Not every photo is marked with a life stage, so this shows when people reported it as an adult, not when adults are about.

Reported as a larva

No records here are marked as larvae yet, so there is no larva season to show. One needs at least 20 records from 5 different years.

What these results show

These results show when people recorded a species, not when or where it occurs. Missing weeks and low counts do not mean absence or scarcity, and counts are not abundance. Contributed records reflect where, when and what people chose to observe.

Identification

How to identify it

Often confused with

  • Twelve-spotted Skimmer Libellula pulchellaOften confused in Ohio: 62 identifications in Ohio named one where the other was meant
  • Widow Skimmer Libellula luctuosaOften confused in Ohio: 26 identifications in Ohio named one where the other was meant
  • Prince Baskettail Epitheca princeps170 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Banded Pennant Celithemis fasciata155 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Painted Skimmer Libellula semifasciata53 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant

From iNaturalist’s similar-species counts, refreshed monthly: confusions in Ohio first, then worldwide. Only species with an Ohio result are listed.

Months not reported

  1. Jan: no record
  2. Feb: no record
  3. Mar: no record
  4. Apr: recorded
  5. May: recorded
  6. Jun: recorded
  7. Jul: recorded
  8. Aug: recorded
  9. Sep: recorded
  10. Oct: recorded
  11. Nov: no record
  12. Dec: no record

Not reported in Ohio in November to March, 2016 to 2025.

Land cover where it is recorded

Land coverIts recordsAll Ohio records
Developed35%49%
Forest28%31%
Farmland16%11%
Wetland12%5%
Open water6%3%
Grassland and shrub2%0.9%
Barren1%0.6%

From 3,330 records placed within 100 m, beside all Ohio records placed the same way. People record where they go, so this shows where records come from, not where the species lives. Land cover: USGS Annual NLCD, 2025 (opens in a new tab)

Sources

Where these results come from

  • Records from iNaturalist research-grade observations and expert-identified GBIF datasets, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC. Sources
  • Seasons use the published method and its evidence thresholds. Methods
  • See it on iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)OpenPhenology is independent and not affiliated with iNaturalist.

Records behind the Ohio result

9,600 records from 2 datasets.

To cite: the GBIF download doi:10.15468/dl.y2jkt8 (opens in a new tab).

A spreadsheet (CSV) with a link to each record, on iNaturalist or GBIF. Records whose location was hidden by the observer or the source are counted but not linked.