White Faced Meadowhawk Sympetrum obtrusum: Dragonfly With White Face

Summary: White Faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum) is a New World dragonfly, native to Canada and the continental United States, with a distinctive white face.

female White Faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum), central Connecticut; Monday, July 21, 2008, 17:55: Sage Ross, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Sympetrum obtrusum is a New World dragonfly native to Canada and the continental United States.

Apart from the northern territory of Nunavut and the eastern province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Sympetrum obtrusum claims homelands throughout Canada.

Sympetrum obtrusum is found from coast-to-coast in the continental United States, except for a tier of southern states. The exclusive southern landscapes span Gulf Coast states (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas); South Atlantic states (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina); South Central states (Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma); and New Mexico in the southwest.

Sympetrum obtrusum’s common name in English recognizes the dragonfly’s distinctive white face as an adult.

White Faced Meadowhawks favor wet environments such as grassy or wooded habitats in proximity to marshes, ponds or streams. Wetland ecosystems provide such ideal, egg-laying sites as emergent vegetation (aquatic plants with above-water flowers and foliage) and muddy shore grasses.

White Faced Meadowhawks are small dragonflies, with adult lengths generally ranging from 1.25 to over 1.5 inches (31.75 to 38.1 millimeters).

The yellowish juvenile face matures into the distinctive pure whiteness of adult males and the generally white creaminess of adult females.

Prominent black triangles decorate the sides of the abdomen, which flashes as bright red in adult males and pales as yellow in juveniles and females. Females may take on olive-brown or dull red abdominal coloring as they mature.

Black coloring dramatizes not only their legs but also the veins of their clear wings.

In July 2015 an adult male came a-calling for an evening visit by resting obviously against the upper portion of my house’s east-facing front screen door. He stayed for hours and then took quiet leave, probably returning to the nearby willow (Salix spp.) grove and vernal pool marking the western perimeter of my back yard.

male White Faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum), Dunnville Barrens State Natural Area (SNA #621), south central Dunn County, northwestern Wisconsin; Sunday, Sep 11, 2011: Aaron Carlson (aarongunner), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

female White Faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum), central Connecticut; Monday, July 21, 2008, 17:55: Sage Ross, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Female_Sympetrum_obtrusum_in_central_Connecticut,_2008-07-21.jpg

male White Faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum), Dunnville Barrens State Natural Area (SNA #621), south central Dunn County, northwestern Wisconsin; Sunday, Sep 11, 2011: Aaron Carlson (aarongunner), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/59003943@N00/6137968020/

For further information:

Dunkle, Sidney W. Dragonflies Through Binoculars: A Field Guide to Dragonflies of North America. Oxford UK; New York NY: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Padelford, Babs. “White-Faced Meadowhawk Sympetrum obtrusum.” Nature Search > Insects > Dragonflies/Damselfies > Skimmers.
Available @ http://www.fnanaturesearch.org/index.php?option=com_naturesearch&task=view&id=1469

“Sympetrum obtrusum.” NatureServe Explorer.
Available @ http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Sympetrum%20obtrusumv Van Dokkum, Pieter. Dragonflies: Magnificent Creatures of Water, Air, and Land. New Haven CT; London UK: Yale University Press, 2015.