Leucorrhinia frigida Hagen, 1890
Frosted Whiteface
NatureServe Global Rank: G5
Virginia State Rank: SH
VA DGIF Tier: IV
Federal Legal Status: None
Virginia Legal Status: None
Description: The Frosted Whiteface is a small, black, white-faced dragonfly with a white base of the abdomen. Its size is 28-32 mm (1.1 - 1.3 inches).
Similar species: The male Chalk-fronted Corporal (Ladona julia) has white on the top of the thorax and is larger and stockier than the Frosted Whiteface. Other Whitefaces with white at the base of the abdomen have some red on the thorax.
North American Range: The Frosted Whiteface is a Northeastern species. It is found from Newfoundland and the New England states west to Minnesota, south to Pennsylvania and northern Indiana. In Virginia, there is one confirmed former record from Highland County from 1978 (Carle, 1982). There is an unconfirmed record of a nymph from Louisa County (Voshell and Simmons, 1978) but the range and habitat make this identification suspect. The voucher can not be located. There is a single male specimen collected from the University of Richmond campus (City of Richmond) from 1925; however, it is likely this was a vagrant individual and that a population did not persist here.
VA Observations by Locality: Highland
Flight season and broods: The lone Virginia record for the Frosted Whiteface is from 18 June. But the flight season is from 10 May - 27 July in New Jersey.
Aquatic Habitat: The Frosted Whiteface prefers mud-bottomed lakes and ponds with emergent vegetation.
Behavior and Ecology: Male Frosted Whiteface defend small areas (about 1-2 square yards) from perches on low vegetation.
Population trend and potential threats: It is common in the northern portion of its range, but perhaps no longer occurs in Virginia due to climate change (Roble et al., 2009)
Management practices: Monitor and protect occupied habitat.
References: Carle, F.L., 1982. A contribution to the knowledge of the Odonata. Ph.D. thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia. 1,095 pp.
NatureServe. 2011. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available http://www.natureserve.org/explorer (Accessed: Oct 15, 2012).
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 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. Virginia Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 16., Martinsville, Virginia.
Voshell, J. R. and G. M. Simmons. 1978. The Odonata of a new reservoir in the southeastern United States. Odonatologica 7: 67-76.