Blue Corporal

Male blue corporal dragonfly resting on a weathered wooden surface
Scientific Name
Ladona deplanata
Family
Libellulidae (skimmers) in the order Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)
Description

Male and female blue corporals look quite different:

  • The male blue corporal has a rather dark blue body, a black head, and dark marks at the wing bases.
  • Females and young males are brownish and have two short stripes on the side of the thorax, behind the eye: a yellow stripe above a black one. This pair of "corporal stripes" apparently gave this dragonfly its name. As males mature, they show a blend of male and female coloration.

While many dragonfly species fly all summer long, adults of this species occur only in springtime (March through May): They emerge as adults in early spring, mate, lay eggs, then die. The immature forms, like those of other dragonflies, are aquatic and relatively long-lived.

Learn more about this and other dragonflies on their group page.

Media Gallery
Male blue corporal dragonfly resting on a weathered wooden surface
The male blue corporal has a rather dark blue body, a black head, and dark marks at the wing bases.
Jim Rathert
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Male blue corporal dragonfly perched on a rock
While many dragonfly species fly all summer long, adults blue corporals occur only in springtime, March through May.
Jim Rathert
2/3
Male blue corporal dragonfly, resting on the ground
Most of a dragonfly’s life is spent as a nymph. Both as nymphs and as adults, blue corporals are important predators of mosquitoes, midges, and other small insects.
Jim Rathert
3/3
Male blue corporal dragonfly resting on a weathered wooden surface
Male blue corporal dragonfly perched on a rock
Male blue corporal dragonfly, resting on the ground
Similar Species
About Land Invertebrates in Missouri
Invertebrates are animals without backbones, including earthworms, slugs, snails, and arthropods. Arthropods—invertebrates with “jointed legs” — are a group of invertebrates that includes crayfish, shrimp, millipedes, centipedes, mites, spiders, and insects. There may be as many as 10 million species of insects alive on earth today, and they probably constitute more than 90 percent all animal species.
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