Gomphus borealis Needham, 1901
Beaverpond Clubtail
NatureServe Global Rank: G4
Virginia State Rank: SH
VA DGIF Tier: IV
Federal Legal Status: None
Virginia Legal Status: None
Description: The Beaverpond Clubtail is a medium-sized blackish species with yellow markings. For a clubtail, the abdomen shows only a slight club. The thorax has two very broad and blunt stripes on the front. There are narrow stripes on top of each abdominal segment become progressively shorter, with the last few segments unmarked above. The last few abdominal segments have lateral yellow markings. The size range is 44-49 mm (1.7 - 1.9 inches).
Similar species: Many clubtails are very similar and need to be examined in hand and identified using a combination of characters. The Beaverpond Clubtail is nearly identical to the Harpoon Clubtail (G. descriptus), but its pond habitat is a helpful clue in identifying this species. See discussions and illustrations in Paulson (2011) or Nikula et al. (2003).
North American Range: The Beaverpond Clubtail can be found from northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, south to Pennsylvania. It was formerly found in isolated occurrences in Virginia and North Carolina (where it is also regarded as possibly extirpated).
VA Observations by Locality: Highland
Flight season and broods: The only Virginia record is from 7 June. Its flight season in Massachusetts is from mid-May to mid-July.
Aquatic Habitat: The Beaverpond Clubtail can be found at ponds, including beaver ponds.
Behavior and Ecology: One of the few clubtails to use ponds instead of rivers and streams.
Population trend and potential threats: The Beaverpond Clubtail is regarded is secure in its core northeastern range, but extirpated or vulnerable on the edges of its range (NatureServe, 2011). Not recorded in Virginia since 1975 (Roble et al., 2009).
Management practices: Monitor and protect occupied habitats.
References: LeGrand, H. & T. Howard Jr. 2011. Notes on the Odonates of North Carolina; Third Approximation. ncparks.gov/NC_Odes_03.pdf
NatureServe. 2011. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available http://www.natureserve.org/explorer (Accessed: April 14, 2012).
Nikula, B., J. Loose, and M. Burne. 2003. A Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program. Westborough, Massachusetts. 197 pp.
Paulson, Dennis. 2011. Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East. Princeton University Press. Princeton and Oxford. 538 pp.
Roble, Steven M. 2011. Dragonflies of Virginia- Flight dates. Unpub.
Roble, S. M., Carle, F. L., and O. S. Flint. 2009. Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) of the Laurel Fork Recreation Area, George Washington National Forest, Highland County, Virginia: Possible evidence for Climate Change. Pp 365-399, in S. M. Roble and J.C. Mitchell (eds.). 2009. A lifetime of contributions to Myriapodology and the Natural History of Virginia. Virginia Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 16, Martinsville, Virginia.