The Dragonflies and Damselflies of North Carolina
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North Carolina's 189 Odonate species
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Related Species in AESHNIDAE: Number of records for 2023 = 0

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[View PDF]		Taper-tailed Darner (Gomphaeschna antilope) by John Petranka
Compare with: Harlequin Darner  
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Note: Except as noted for the cerci, all characters apply to both sexes.

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Map
Click on county for list of all its records for Taper-tailed Darner
Flight Charts
Distribution Essentially just the eastern 50-60% of the state; throughout the Coastal Plain, and in the southeastern third of the Piedmont, west to Caswell, Alamance, Chatham, and Mecklenburg counties. A photo record from Burke County in 2015 was most unusual and well to the west of the expected range, but a recent photo record from Alexander County in 2022 suggests that the species might occur throughout the state's Piedmont province. Nonetheless, there are still huge areas of the northwestern and western part of the region that still lacks records. No mountain records yet.
Abundance Uncommon in the southern and central Coastal Plain, and close to the coast to the VA line, but rare in most of the northern third of the province. Rare to locally uncommon in the eastern Piedmont west to Caswell and Mecklenburg counties. Very rare to absent in the western 50-60% of the Piedmont.
Flight Spring into early summer only. In the Coastal Plain, the flight is mainly from early April (very rarely in late March) to late June, sparingly into July. In the Piedmont, the flight occurs from early April to late June. The peak is from mid-April to early May.
Habitat Typically in and near swamps, but also along nearby rivers and streams.

See also Habitat Account for General Wet-Hydric Forests
Behavior Forages typically singly along wooded roads and openings near swamps and rivers, not over the water. As with the Harlequin Darner, it often perches vertically on tree trunks, where it can be photographed near human eye-level. A number of NC photos, especially on iNaturalist, show them perched on man-made structures, such as on sides of buildings (and porch screens).
Comments The species looks similar to Harlequin Darner, though its paired green spots on the abdomen become smaller toward the abdomen tip. Whereas the latter has a somewhat similar range and flight period to Taper-tailed, it is much more often encountered. There were few recent observations of Taper-taileds until about 2015, probably owing to better coverage of the Coastal Plain. Many new records have been made in the Piedmont, such as in Union and Mecklenburg counties that extend the range westward. Could the species be slowly expanding its range inland, or is this simply a matter of more observers gathering odonate data in the Piedmont? As mentioned above, many records on iNaturalist appear to be serendipitous -- a dragonfly that appears on the side of a person's house and is photographed and becomes added to the ever-growing set of records for this often difficult-to-find species!
State Rank S4
State Status
Global Rank G4
Federal Status
Synonym
Other Name
Species account update: LeGrand on 2023-01-09 14:21:21
Photo Gallery for Taper-tailed Darner   38 photos are available.
Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Other NC Galleries:    Jeff Pippen    Will Cook    Ted Wilcox
Photo 1 by: Gage Sutton

Comment: Alexander, 2022-05-30, Rocky Face Church Rd, Hiddenite; iNaturalist Record #119496415		Photo 2 by: Max Ramey

Comment: Dare; Mainland, 2022-05-27, Buffalo City Road - Alligator NWR - Many were seen feeding in large swarms (which seemed to be primarily composed of Taper-tails) along the road at multiple points, probably more than 20 individuals but I want to keep it conservative.
Photo 3 by: Paul Hart

Comment: Harnett; P, 2022-04-07, Anderson Creek County Park - Male		Photo 4 by: Matt Spangler

Comment: Chatham, 2021-05-22, The Glades
Photo 5 by: Erich Hofmann and Kayla Weinfurther

Comment: Craven, 2020-04-20, County Line Rd., ca. 0.5 km SSE of intersection with W Fisher Road. 34.983611, -76.98303. - Female. From iNaturalist.		Photo 6 by: Michael Parrish and Crystal Puga

Comment: New Hanover, 2020-04-02, Wilmington, near Hearthside Drive. - Female.
Photo 7 by: Aaron Edmonds

Comment: Harnett; C, 2019-05-31, - Flat Branch. Reviewer note: female shows characteristic J-shaped mark on side of S2.		Photo 8 by: Mark Shields

Comment: Onslow, 2019-05-19, my property, Holly Ridge - in feeding swarm with Swamp Darners and Carolina Saddlebags
Photo 9 by: Mark Shields

Comment: Onslow, 2019-05-19, my property, Holly Ridge - in feeding swarm with Swamp Darners and Carolina Saddlebags		Photo 10 by: Lenny Lampel

Comment: Mecklenburg, 2019-04-15, Reedy Creek Park and Nature Preserve. Near Environmental Center. - Female. From iNaturalist.
Photo 11 by: T. Howard

Comment: Wake, 2019-04-08, female		Photo 12 by: N. Williamson

Comment: Moore; C, 2018-06-03, Weymouth Woods preserve - Brought up to Visitor Center by visitor - was unable to fly.
Photo 13 by: Genesis Haskell-Ayala.

Comment: Cumberland, 2018-05-23, Private residence, Carfew Court, Fayetteville - Female. From iNaturalist.		Photo 14 by: Paul Hart

Comment: Harnett; C, 2017-05-29, Anderson Creek County Park - Male
Photo 15 by: Simon Kerr

Comment: Union, 2017-05-25, Pine Oak Road, Waxhaw. - Female		Photo 16 by: John Petranka, Richard Stickney

Comment: Orange, 2017-04-26, Eno River State Park (ENRI), Fews Ford Section near the main parking area. - Female; netted, photographed and released.
Photo 17 by: John Petranka, Richard Stickney

Comment: Orange, 2017-04-26, Eno River State Park (ENRI), Fews Ford Section at transmission line corridor. - Male; netted, photographed and released.		Photo 18 by: Mark Shields

Comment: Jones, 2017-04-11, Weetock Trail near Haywood Landing, Croatan National Forest - female
Photo 19 by: Kyle Kittelberger

Comment: Wake, 2017-04-10, Raleigh, near Falls Lake State Recreation Area - male, flew into me at 8:25 pm, presumably coming in to my "zapperless" bug zapper light		Photo 20 by: Kyle Kittelberger

Comment: Wake, 2017-04-10, Raleigh, near Falls Lake State Recreation Area - male, flew into me at 8:25 pm, presumably coming in to my "zapperless" bug zapper light
Photo 21 by: Kyle Kittelberger

Comment: Wake, 2017-04-10, Raleigh, near Falls Lake State Recreation Area - male, flew into me at 8:25 pm, presumably coming in to my "zapperless" bug zapper light		Photo 22 by: Kyle Kittelberger

Comment: Wake, 2017-04-10, Raleigh, near Falls Lake State Recreation Area - male, flew into me at 8:25 pm, presumably coming in to my "zapperless" bug zapper light
Photo 23 by: John Petranka

Comment: Bladen, 2016-04-26, Sugg's Millpond (aka Horseshoe Lake), area around dam. Suggs Mill Pond Game Land. Common over roads and around millpond. Photo.		Photo 24 by: R Emmitt

Comment: Orange, 2015-06-23, Saw at a customer's house while building a deck - male perched under a deck in Chapel Hill
Photo 25 by: Kristy Baker

Comment: Dare; Mainland, 2015-06-07, Alligator River NWR, Sandy Ridge Wildlife Trail - 3 Females & 2 Males - Including a mating pair.		Photo 26 by: Kristy Baker

Comment: Tyrrell, 2015-06-06, Palmetto-Peartree Preserve
Photo 27 by: Kristy Baker

Comment: Tyrrell, 2015-06-06, Palmetto-Peartree Preserve		Photo 28 by: Bobby J. Ward

Comment: Wake, 2015-05-31, photographed at his yard on Wimbleton Dr. in Raleigh
Photo 29 by: George Andrews

Comment: Burke; P, 2015-05-11, South Mountains State Park. - Along the Horseridge Trail		Photo 30 by: Jeff Beane

Comment: Moore; C, 2014-05-24, Moore Co., 5.4 airmi. WSW Pinebluff, SR 1004, ca. 0.2 rdmi. NNW Drowning Cr./Richmond Co. line. Injured on road. 24 May 2014. JCB - found injured on road