Range & Habitat:

Our commonest Spiketail, it is found throughout the state, although it has yet to be recorded in a few central counties.

Forested streams and rivers where it patrols steadily along the edges for long distances.  Found along larger streams where other Spiketails are absent but may overlap with them on smaller streams as well.

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female dorsal	female lateral
male lateral

Description:

Large and black or dark brown, with a double row of bright yellow spots on the top of the abdomen and bold yellow stripes on the thorax.  The Delta-spotted Spiketail is similar but the spots are widely separated.  The uncommon Tiger Spiketail is superficially similar but each segment has a nearly complete yellow ring that may be broken dorsally.  Arrowhead Spiketail has single spear-shaped dorsal spots.

River Cruisers are superficially similar but have a single lateral thoracic stripe and different behavior.

Conservation Status:

Global: G5 - Secure globally, but possibly rare in parts of its range

Flight season:

Early Date: 6/4
Late Date: 8/1

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