Large and bulky. Widespread below fall line, but does not appear in numbers until August. Note long reddish abdomen, held curved in flight, and detail of thorax at upper right. Male appendage detail lower right. Females tough to find, note slimmer club and short appendages at lower left.
1 Jun- 4 Oct
Pond clubtail, south only. May also be found along slow streams occasionally. Image at lower left is in extreme obelisk position, images on third row and at lower right are females. Note that both sexes vary from bright and well-marked to dull and weakly-marked. 12 records.
1 Apr- 24 Jul
The only GA records are from Walker or Dade County, the first on 23 May 2003 at lower right.
9 May- 4 Jul
Large colorful clubtail, but very wary and local. Scattered records below fall line. Upper two males, others female. Male club varies from yellow-orange to reddish-orange.
1 Jun- 17 Sep
Widespread in all habitats. Note resemblance to some clubtails but different thoracic pattern. Also note spines on upper legs
which give this group its name. Note that some may have lots of yellow on sides of club,
and some not. Very yellow individuals in middle row are imm females.
8 May- 20 Sep
Found only in four counties in extreme nw Georgia.
24 May- 21 Sep
Widespread but uncommon at rivers and streams, more common below the fall line. Thorax color ranges from green to yellow, yellow in older individuals. All males on left, females on right. Second down on left is teneral.
17 May- 27 Oct
Gomphurus Mostly large and bulky, with wide clubs (except Cherokee and Sable Clubtails which are very slender and dark)
Gomphus Mostly slender with only weak clubs
Hylogomphus Small and chunky with very wide clubs
Some authorities use Phanogomphus for many Gomphus species, and some take Cherokee and Sable Clubtail out of Gomphurus and into their own subgenus Stenogomphurus. This makes a lot of sense to me, as these two species are clearly different than the other members of Gomphurus, but only further study will solidify this classification.
Very similar to Sable Clubtail. Note gray-green color, number of abdominal segments with color on upper surface (most), and pale face. Two solid thin lateral black stripes on thorax, rear one rarely broken but never forward one. Left images are males, and right are females. The very yellow images are young individuals of both sexes. Club of male varies in amount of yellow along sides. Rare and local, only known from about nine streams in northwest Georgia.
23 May- 20 Jun
Very similar to Cherokee Clubtail but more widespread in extreme north Georgia, and rarely found almost to the fall line. Same gray-green thorax color, but top of abdomen almost completely black and much darker face. Forward lateral thoracic stripe usually broken. Blacker overall than Cherokee, especially top of abdomen, but sides of male club may show quite a bit of yellow. Females are extremely similar to female Cherokee, see all right column images.
11 May- 27 Jun
Large impressive clubtail, may be difficult to tell from Cobra in the field, but much larger. Area of yellow on last long abdominal segment (s9) smaller and face darker than Cobra. Note size of thorax and head compared to Cobra. Lower two images of females. Also check notes under Splendid Clubtail below, which is similar in size but only found in NW GA.
11 Apr- 25 Jul
Can be difficult to separate from Blackwater in the field, but smaller in direct comparison. More yellow on last long abdominal segment (s9), usually yellow across entire side of that segment, and more obvious black and yellow lines across face. Males on top row, females second row.
11 Apr- 19 Jul
Another large greenish gomphid, closer in size to
Blackwater. Note pattern on thorax, size, and pattern of color near tip of
abdomen. Also note that the forward lateral stripe down the side of the
thorax is incomplete in Splendid but complete in Blackwater. Lower two
images are female, rest are males. Only 8 GA records, all from NW.
6 May- 27 Jun
Fairly common in much of GA early, but sometimes hard to find. 16 county records. Browner than all other Gomphurus clubtails, which are black and green. Female at lower left.
31 Mar- 10 Jun
This rare species is known only from Emanuel, Taylor, and Telfair Counties. Note very long last segment to abdomen. Female at lower right.
19 Mar- 2 May
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This subspecies was thought to be restricted to the FL peninsula, but a small population was discovered in Mar 2007 in Charlton County by Marion Dobbs. These images are from the same pond a few days later. Bright young male upper left, older male lower left. Female at upper right. Note how different they appear from G. c. brimleyi below. Very similar to Cypress Clubtail (see below), but in the hand the shape of the cerci are unique.
26 Mar- 28 Mar are only known dates so far
Most of the range of this species is in the Carolinas, there are three
locations with records
for GA near Augusta, all in Richmond County. Females (two on right) are identical to Westfall's Clubtail (scroll
down). Same very long segment 9 on abdomen of both sexes as Clearlake but
much smaller.
13 Apr- 27 May
Widespread early clubtail, easily the most common with Ashy, can be confused
with Ashy but
brighter and smaller (see
below). Also extremely
similar to Cypress (see). Note thoracic stripes usually combined, amount of
yellow on sides of male club doesn't usually extend onto segment 7, and
pattern of yellow on dorsum of abdomen (usually at least a thin stripe of
yellow on segment 8 and wide on segment 9). Note also image of
suspended dark individual, can look similar to Ashy. Both lower images are
females.
17 Mar- 4 Jul
Also widespread early clubtail, can be difficult to separate from Lancet (above) but usually much duller and has two distinct stripes on thorax. Look at last long abdominal segment (s9): on Lancet there is usually lots of yellow color on top, on Ashy there is little or none. Ashy is also somewhat larger. Note on females (both lower images) no club.
11 Mar- 12 Jun
This clubtail is widespread early in the year but only south of the fall line. Can be extremely similar to Lancet, but has two usually distinct stripes on side of thorax and full length yellow stripe on top of abdomen. Yellow on side of male club usually comes strongly onto segment 7 in addition to segments 8 and 9. Can also be somewhat dark as in third row left shot. Females in both lower shots. About same size as Lancet. Also very similar to Sandhill Clubtail, but note Sandhill does not have the unbroken dorsal stripe, is usually smaller, and has a face line.
26 Mar- 18 Jun
One GA record from Murray Co 16 May 1998 by S Krotzer. These shots from KY Jun 2006.
8 May- 16 Jun
The female in the two top images was caught at Lake Conasauga 9 Jun 2002, and is the only state record Mustached (note black lines on face). The male at lower left is from CT. Note that male has very little yellow on club.
Small and rare, 11 records. Note short stubby abdomen and area between thoracic stripes darkened. Female at lower right has just emerged, female at lower left is mature.
26 Mar- 31 May
Extremely similar to Piedmont Clubtail, but previously thought to be separated by range. The top two images are from a small known population at the edge of the range of Piedmont in Taylor County, and this population is being studied carefully by Steve Krotzer and others to determine exact taxonomy. 1 Apr-9 Jun
The four lower shots are from the main coastal population of this species, these are from Eglin AFB FL.
There are only 8 records of this rare species in Georgia. Male in both upper images from Unicoi St Park 6 Jun 2004. These are of the "northern form." Male in middle row is from Richmond County in May 2005 ("southern form"). Females in bottom row also "southern" form.
21 Apr- 23 May
Male shots are from Eglin AFB, FL, 9-10 Apr 2004. Female at lower right is from MS 13 Apr 2007.
1 Apr- 8 May
Shots are from Blue Spring WMA, AL, 7-8 Apr 2004.
7 Apr- 26 Apr
Shots are from Blackwater River State Park, FL, 8 Apr 2004.
Huge clubtail, can be found all summer. Perches facing water, note large size, small head, and very long legs. Patrols streams and rivers with abdomen curved down, very distinctive. Female lower right.
8 May- 28 Sep
This small clubtail has been found in 5 GA counties in the mountains. It is similar to Eastern Least Clubtail but note all-black abdomen and cerci. All males except for female upper and middle right. Note in lower left shot we are still learning what constitutes a sturdy perch.
13 May- 26 Jun
Perches mostly on rocks just above the water on fast clean rivers, like the Conasauga. Very rare, only known from six counties in three states.
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24 Apr- 25 May
Three records. Adults from two different streams in Murray Co: 17 May 1998 and 15 Jun 2006, and a larva in Rabun 25 Sep 2003. Lower right is a female.
17 May- 15 Jun
Three records, from Oglethorpe, Talbot, and White Counties.
21 Apr- 26 Jun
Two small streams in Early County have produced several records of a snaketail that doesn't exactly match either Appalachian or Southern Snaketail in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Click here to go to a page explaining this situation.
This species was discovered in GA near St George in Apr 2007 by Steve
Krotzer during a larval survey. Dates below are for adults in GA, but flight
season longer. Males on left are from that same pond, female on right is
from FL.
29 Jun- 8 Jul
Perches mostly on ground with flattened-appearing thorax and white appendages
(cerci) at
end of abdomen, easy to see even in flight. Sometimes several in close
proximity...
1 May- 23 Aug
Very small clubtail from
north GA. Top four and lower right are males, lower left is a female.
Note in all ages very small size, multiple lines on side of thorax in males
and white cerci (terminal appendages). 15 county records, mostly in the
northern part of the state.
10 May- 3 Aug
Seven records from the eastern coastal plain, flies in the fall only. Middle right is young male.
12 Aug- 15 Oct
Male on left found near Conyers 28 Jul 2002,
female on right in Cherokee Co 15 Aug 2005. There are only 4 confirmed records
of this species in GA.
20 Jun- 25 Sep
This genus flies in summer and fall, and typically perches on leaves hanging down (hence the name "Hanging clubtails" for all Stylurus species). Sometimes perches horizontally like lower right. Holds reddish club raised in flight patrolling low across streams and rivers, note club detail upper right. Female at middle and lower right.
2 Jun- 11 Nov
One GA adult record from White Co 25 Sep early 1900s and several recent larval records. This shot from WI Sep 2006.