NC Odonate Website

Related Species in GOMPHIDAE:

Number of records for 2024 = 5

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Diminutive Clubtail (Phanogomphus diminutus) by John Petranka

Compare with: Clearlake Clubtail
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Note: these identification tips apply specifically to mature males; features may differ in immature males and in females.

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Map

Click on county for list of all its records for Diminutive Clubtail

Flight Charts

Distribution

Essentially only the Sandhills region, plus the adjacent southern Coastal Plain, east to Harnett, Cumberland, and Bladen counties. NC lies at the northeastern edge of the species' range. The species has one of the more limited ranges for a dragonfly -- primarily along the Fall Line sandhills from NC, through central SC, to extreme eastern GA.

Abundance

Uncommon to locally fairly common in the Sandhills, but very rare to the east. Can occur in some numbers, as there are three daily counts of 20 or more individuals.

Flight

Spring season only; very late March to late May.

Habitat

Sunny margins of lakes, ponds, pools, and other slow-moving water, often around sphagnum moss or other "boggy" ground.

Behavior

Adults perch on the ground in the boggy places or dirt/ground nearby. They probably do not stray too far from such wet areas.

Comments

In the Sandhills, this species is not too difficult to find, if one walks along the boggy, open margins of beaver ponds or man-made ponds, especially looking near sphagnum moss. Wet spots in powerline clearings can also have the species. It is one of the smaller clubtails, appearing similar at a glance to the much more common Lancet Clubtail, but the Diminutive (as the common name implies) is even slimmer and slightly shorter than the Lancet. A previous photo from Brunswick County that was identified as this species has been confirmed by the website editors (in late 2016) as a different species and thus this county has been removed from the range map. Owing to its small global range, the species has been on the N.C. Natural Heritage Program's Watch List for many years.

State Rank

S3S4

State Status

Global Rank

G3G4

Federal Status

Synonym

Gomphus diminutus

Other Name

Species account update: LeGrand on 2023-01-10 12:36:24

The Dragonflies and Damselflies of North Carolina
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Photo Gallery for Diminutive Clubtail 25 photos are shown.		Other NC Galleries: Jeff Pippen Will Cook Ted Wilcox
	Photo 1 by: Matt Spangler Comment: Richmond; C, 2024-03-31, Sandhills GL Block A near Lake Bagget		Photo 2 by: Richard Stickney Comment: Richmond; C, 2023-04-17, Indian Camp Lake
	Photo 3 by: Harry LeGrand, Lori Arent Comment: Richmond; C, 2023-04-05, - adjacent to unnamed pond near Bagget Lake Rd.; photo by Lori Arent		Photo 4 by: Harry LeGrand, Lori Arent Comment: Richmond; C, 2022-05-31, Indian Camp Lake; photo by Lori Arent
	Photo 5 by: B. Bockhahn Comment: Cumberland, 2021-04-21,		Photo 6 by: Ken Kneidel Comment: Richmond; C, 2021-04-13, Lake Bagget, Sandhills Game Land
	Photo 7 by: Matt Spangler Comment: Richmond; C, 2021-04-12, Sandhills GL Block A (Lake Bagget and nearby ponds and roads)		Photo 8 by: Matt Spangler Comment: Richmond; C, 2021-04-12, Sandhills GL Block A (Lake Bagget and nearby ponds and roads)
	Photo 9 by: Rob Van Epps, Kevin Metcalf Comment: Scotland, 2020-04-17, - Scotland Lake area - mostly males		Photo 10 by: Rob Van Epps, Kevin Metcalf Comment: Scotland, 2020-04-17, - Scotland Lake area - mostly males
	Photo 11 by: R.Emmitt, H. LeGrand, J. Pippen Comment: Scotland, 2019-04-28, - Gum Swamp Lake		Photo 12 by: R Emmitt and super DSA crew! Comment: Scotland, 2018-05-11, Scotland Lake
	Photo 13 by: Mark Shields, Hunter Phillips Comment: Scotland, 2017-05-15, Scotland Lake, Sandhills Game Land. Male preying upon a teneral Variable Dancer.		Photo 14 by: Kyle Kittelberger Comment: Scotland, 2017-05-08, Sandhill Game Land; Scotland Lake - males and females
	Photo 15 by: Kyle Kittelberger Comment: Scotland, 2017-05-08, Sandhill Game Land; Scotland Lake - males and females		Photo 16 by: Mike Turner, Conrad Wernett, Alyssa Wernett Comment: Scotland, 2017-05-07, Sandhill Game Land; Scotland Lake
	Photo 17 by: John Petranka Comment: Scotland, 2016-04-23, Sandhills Game Land, Scotland Lake. Mostly males. Photo.		Photo 18 by: Conrad Wernett, Alyssa Wernett, Matt Anderson Comment: Scotland, 2015-05-03, - Mixed with G. exilis around Scotland Lake and adjacent woodlands/clearings.
	Photo 19 by: Conrad Wernett Comment: Scotland, 2014-04-26, - Scotland Lake and Lake McKinney		Photo 20 by: Ali Iyoob, Matt Daw, Dan Irizarry Comment: Richmond; C, 2011-05-05, McKinney Lake Fish Hatchery
	Photo 21 by: Ali Iyoob, Matt Daw, Dan Irizarry Comment: Scotland, 2011-05-05, Scotland Lake in the Sandhill Game Land		Photo 22 by: Ali Iyoob, Matt Daw, Dan Irizarry Comment: Scotland, 2011-05-05, Scotland Lake in the Sandhills Game Land
	Photo 23 by: Jeffrey Pippen - Jeff's website Comment: Scotland, 2004-04-10. Sandhills Game Land		Photo 24 by: Jeffrey Pippen - Jeff's website Comment: Scotland, 2004-04-10. Sandhills Game Land
	Photo 25 by: R Emmitt Comment: Longer abdomen segments on S7 and S9 than S8 which as you can see is slightly shorter. Scotland County, NC on May 05, 2001. Male