White Corporal

Ladona exusta

The White Corporal is a beautiful dragonfly with striking white and blue colors. They love to fly around ponds and wetlands, showing off their amazing wings.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The White Corporal is a medium-sized dragonfly with a dark brown to black body. Males develop a distinctive powdery white coating on their abdomen. Its wings are clear, featuring a dark spot called a stigma near the tip.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumArthropodaClassInsectaOrderOdonataFamilyLibellulidaeGenusLadona

White Corporal

Interesting facts

An adult White Corporal can fly its entire body length in less than a second!

Dragonflies often 'sunbathe' to warm up their muscles, helping them fly faster!

They are ancient insects, existing on Earth even before dinosaurs roamed!

White Corporals spend most of their life underwater as fierce, camouflaged nymphs!

Special abilities

White Corporals can hover in mid-air and even fly backward, which helps them ambush unsuspecting prey.

This dragonfly has huge compound eyes that give it nearly 360-degree vision, essential for hunting and avoiding predators.

The White Corporal has spiky legs that form a basket to scoop flying insects right out of the air.

Measurements & details

Wingspan: 65-80 mm
Size: 40-45 mm
Lifespan: 30-60 days
Flight Speed: 45 km/h
Leg Count: 6

Diet & Feeding

This insect is a skilled hunter, feasting on smaller flying insects like mosquitoes and flies.

Age differences: Nymphs hunt aquatic insects and small tadpoles, while adults exclusively catch flying insects.

Primary Foods

mosquitoes
gnats
flies
midges
small moths

Foraging Method

Pursuit

Ecological connections

eats

Largemouth Bass

Micropterus salmoides

eats nymphs in the water

eaten by

Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus

preys on adult dragonflies

hunts

Common House Mosquito

Culex pipiens

preys on adults in flight

shelters

Common Cattail

Typha latifolia

provides perches and shelter

Traits

Aerial

Aerial creatures spend a significant portion of their lives airborne, utilizing flight for various activities such as hunting, migration, or nesting.

Colorful

Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.

Insectivorous

This trait identifies organisms whose diet primarily consists of insects and other small invertebrates.

Pollinator Magnet

Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.