Males hanging out in the August sunshine at the water’s edge, eating, and waiting for females—it sounds like the script for a 1960s beach–party movie. Yet, that pretty well describes the life of the adult Pale Snaketail.
This dragonfly is a member of the Clubtail family—just look at its tail—but, out of the nearly hundred species in this family across North America, this one seems to be the only one found in this vicinity. It can be seen along the shores of lakes and ponds, but sources suggest that it is rather uncommon.
Pale Snaketails are perchers: they spend much of their time perching (as distinct from flying). Here we see them between short flights as they rest on various lakeshore rocks.
