Delta-spotted Spiketail Cordulegaster diastatops Selys, 1854S3S4    
Kingdom Animalia   >   Phylum Arthropoda   >   Class Insecta   >   Order Odonata   >   Family Cordulegastridae   >   Genus Cordulegaster   

Status:

Delta-spotted Spiketail (Cordulegaster diastatops) is distributed mostly to the north of Maryland. Its distribution in the state is curiously disjunct, with a population in the western mountains of Garrett and Allegany Counties (where it is considered uncommon), and records from Queen Anne's and Worcester Counties, on the Eastern Shore (where it is rare) (Richard Orr's Dragonflies and Damselflies of Maryland and District of Columbia). The species breeds in small forested seeps and tiny streams through wet meadows, and often forages in open areas within forests. It is closely-related to Brown Spiketail (Cordulegaster bilineata), and the two species appear to intergrade where their ranges overlap (Paulson, 2011). This dragonfly is on the watch list (S3) in Maryland.

There are 56 records in the project database.

View images at BugGuide

View taxon at iNaturalist

View taxon at NatureServe

Search Google Images

Search MBP Facebook posts (beta | requires login)


[View seasonality details]
GA AL WAFRCLMOHOBA BCHACEPGAA CVCHSMKEQA CNTADOWISOWO 
A Delta-spotted Spiketail in Garrett Co., Maryland (7/1/2006). Photo by Bill Hubick. (MBP list)

A Delta-spotted Spiketail in Garrett Co., Maryland (2007). Photo by Hans Holbrook. (MBP list)

A Delta-spotted Spiketail in Garrett Co., Maryland (6/18/2016). Photo by Jim Brighton. (MBP list)

Delta-spotted Spiketail in Garrett Co., Maryland (6/19/2018). Photo by Mark Eanes. (MBP list)

Delta-spotted Spiketail in Garrett Co., Maryland (Date obscured). (c) Josh Emm, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Josh Emm. (MBP list)

The abdomen pattern of a Delta-spotted Spiketail found at 1000 Acre Heath, Maine (7/2/2010). Photo by Jim Brighton. (MBP list)

A Delta-spotted Spiketail in Garrett Co., Maryland (6/15/2014). Photo by Jim Stasz. (MBP list)

A Delta-spotted Spiketail in Garrett Co., Maryland (2007). Photo by Hans Holbrook. (MBP list)


View All Images

Use of images featured on Maryland Biodiversity Project is only permitted with express permission of the photographer.