chalk-fronted corporal

(Ladona julia)

Conservation Status
chalk-fronted corporal
Photo by Babette Kis
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

N5 - Secure

SNR - Unranked

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Chalk-fronted corporal is a medium-sized skimmer, 1 to 113 16 long.

Juveniles are light orangish-brown. There is a broad, dark stripe down the top of the abdomen and a pair of pale “shoulder” stripes on the top of the thorax. There is a small, triangular, brown patch at the base of the hindwing, where the wing attaches to the thorax. Aside from the basal patch and the stigma, the wing is clear. The face is brown and the forehead is gray.

As they mature, they develop a waxy bloom (pruinescence) at segments 2 through 4 or 5 of the abdomen. On males, the pruinescence is white and the abdomen turns black. On females, the pruinescence is gray and the abdomen turns dark brown. Males also develop two stripes of white pruinescence, “corporal stripes”, on the top of their thorax. Females have a shorter, blunt abdomen, about as long as the wing.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Wingspan: 3

Total length: 1 to 113 16

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

Common whitetail (Libellula lydia) wings have a broad, dark band.

Frosted whiteface (Leucorrhinia frigida) is smaller and more slender.

Widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) wings are boldly patterned, not clear.

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Lakes, ponds, marshes, peat bogs, slow streams.

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

Late May to early August

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

Adults perch horizontally on the ground, on objects in water, or on other flat surfaces, and fly up to snatch prey.

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

The female hovers just above the surface of shallow water, dips the tip of her abdomen into the water, and deposits the eggs. The male does not guard the female as she deposits her eggs.

The naiads live on the bottom in a layer of decaying vegetation. They emerge as adults at night.

 
     
 

Naiad Food

 
 

Mosquito larvae, mayfly naiads, other aquatic fly larvae, and freshwater shrimp.

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

Mosquitoes, flies, butterflies, moths, mayflies, and flying ants or termites, and other soft-bodied flying insects.

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

7, 18, 27, 29, 30, 82.

 
  9/30/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common, often abundant

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)  
 

Suborder

Epiprocta  
  Infraorder Anisoptera (dragonflies)  
 

Superfamily

Libelluloidea  
 

Family

Libellulidae (skimmers)  
 

Genus

Ladona (corporals)  
       
 

Most authors separate corporals as a separate species, Ladona. Some consider them a subgenus of the genus Libellula. Others consider Ladona a synonym of Libellula.

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Libellula julia

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

chalk-fronted corporal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Pruinescence

A waxy bloom that covers the underlying coloration and gives a dusty or frosty appearance.

 

Stigma

In plants, the portion of the female part of the flower that is receptive to pollen. In Lepidoptera, an area of specialized scent scales on the forewing of some skippers, hairstreaks, and moths. In other insects, a thickened, dark, or opaque cell on the leading edge of the wing.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

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Babette Kis

 
 

Ladona julia chalk-fronted corporal dragonfly

Here's a photo of Ladona julia, chalk-fronted corporal, taken at Langlade Co., Wisconsin on June 15, 2021.

  chalk-fronted corporal  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Male

 
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    chalk-fronted corporal   chalk-fronted corporal  
           
    chalk-fronted corporal      
           
 

Female

 
    chalk-fronted corporal   chalk-fronted corporal  
           
    chalk-fronted corporal   chalk-fronted corporal  
           
    chalk-fronted corporal      
           
 

Juvenile

 
    chalk-fronted corporal   chalk-fronted corporal  

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Chalk-fronted Corporal
Victor Fazio
 
  Chalk-fronted Corporal  

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

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Other Videos
 
  Chalk-fronted Corporal (Libellulidae: Ladona julia) Male
Carl Barrentine
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Jul 19, 2010

Photographed at Middle Thompson Lake, Kootenai National Forest, Montana (15 July 2010). Go here to learn more about this species: http://minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/chalk-fronted_corporal.html

 
  Uploaded on Jun 10, 2011
Carl Barrentine
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Jun 10, 2011

A common skimmer just now. Photographed at the Rydell NWR, Minnesota (09 June 2011).

 
  Ladona julia
wetvideocamera
 
   
 
About

Published on Dec 31, 2013

Chalk-fronted Corporal dragonfly

 
  Ladona julia at Mundy Lake, Coquitlam, BC
wetvideocamera
 
   
 
About

Published on Jul 11, 2012

Chalk-fronted Corporal dragonfly at Mundy Lake, Coquitlam, BC. A few years ago on a visit to Mundy Lake in the summer I noted that dragonflies frequently land on the same viewpoint repeatedly. I stood for a few moments at the edge of the lake with one finger pointed to the sky. A dragonfly alighted on the tip of my finger then flew off and came back to the tip of my finger. I walked further along the trail to another lake viewpoint where a woman and her young daughter were sitting. As they glanced in my direction a dragonfly came flitting along. I pointed at the dragonfly and the dragonfly landed on the tip of my finger. Their mouths dropped open in surprise and they asked me how I did that.

( Ladona julia ) Chalk-fronted Corporal July 11, 2012

 

 

Camcorder

 
 
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  Babette Kis
6/15/2021

Location: Langlade Co., Wisconsin

Here's a photo of Ladona julia, chalk-fronted corporal, taken at Langlade Co., Wisconsin on June 15, 2021.

chalk-fronted corporal  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
   

 

 

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