frosted whiteface

(Leucorrhinia frigida)

Conservation Status
frosted whiteface
 
  IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

     
  NatureServe

N5 - Secure

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Frosted whiteface is a small skimmer, 1 to 15 16 long.

The thorax on mature males is brown with mostly black “shoulder” patches and small black spots on the back between the wing bases. There are no red markings on the thorax. The abdomen is black and stocky. Abdominal segments 1 through 4 are covered with a whitish, waxy bloom (pruinescence). The face is white. The wings are clear except for a small black patch at the base of the hindwings and a black thickened cell (stigma) at the leading edge of each wing. The region of the wing just beyond the forewing triangle has only two rows of cells. The legs are black.

Females have dull yellow spots on the dorsal surface of abdominal segments 2 through 7. The spots become smaller and narrower as they go down the abdomen and on segment 7 it is a thin line. Some females develop pruinescence like the male. They have an amber patch on the basal 20% of the wing.

Juveniles have a yellow thorax that quickly becomes brown with age. On juvenile males abdominal segments 1 through 3 are yellow and 4 through 10 are black. On juvenile females there are thin, yellow, dorsal spots on segments 4 through 7.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Total length: 1 to 15 16

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

Belted whiteface (Leucorrhinia proxima) is larger and has a longer, more slender abdomen. Males have red spots on the thorax between the wing bases. The pruinescence on the abdomen sometimes extends to segment 6. The region of the wing just beyond the forewing triangle has 3 rows of cells.

Chalk-fronted corporal (Ladona julia) is larger, has a stockier abdomen, and has white “shoulder” patches.

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Bog-bordered ponds, lakes, sometimes marsh-bordered ponds

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

Mid-May to mid-August

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

They hunt from low plants at wetland edges. Males perch on low vegetation and defend a territory of one to two square yards.

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

While the female deposits her eggs her mate will guard her by snatching and holding a rival male until the eggs are laid.

 
     
 

Naiad Food

 
 

 

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

7, 18, 27, 29, 72.

 
  12/20/2015      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Fairly common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)  
 

Suborder

Epiprocta  
  Infraorder Anisoptera (dragonflies)  
 

Superfamily

Cavilabiata  
 

Family

Libellulidae (skimmers)  
 

Genus

Leucorrhinia  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

frosted whiteface

 
       

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Pruinescence

A waxy bloom that covers the underlying coloration and gives a dusty or frosty appearance.

 

Stigma

In plants, the portion of the female part of the flower that is receptive to pollen. In Lepidoptera, an area of specialized scent scales on the forewing of some skippers, hairstreaks, and moths. In other insects, a thickened, dark, or opaque cell on the leading edge of the wing.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Mature male

 
    frosted whiteface      
           
 

Pruinose female

 
    frosted whiteface      
           

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
Leucorrhinia frigida (Frosted Whiteface)
Allen Chartier
  Leucorrhinia frigida (Frosted Whiteface)  
     

 

slideshow

       
 
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Other Videos
 
  Frosted Whiteface? (Libellulidae: Leucorrhinia frigida?) Male on Grass
Carl Barrentine
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Jun 21, 2011

Identity needs to be confirmed...this could be a Banded Whiteface (L. proxima). Photographed at the Turtle River State Park, North Dakota (20 June 2011).

 
       

 

Camcorder

 
 
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