Chalk-fronted Corporal

On 17 July 2020, Erika found a Chalk-fronted Corporal along the shores of Lake Lucinda in the Darlin Creek Preserve south of Olympia. This dragonfly enjoys a strange range. It occurs across most of northeastern North America. The range becomes narrower across the upper midwest, and then very narrow across central Canada. (We saw many in Minnesota.)  Finally, the range dips south through southwest Canada and northwestern United States, south trough central California. The species is common in Washington, yet Erika’s record is one of relatively few from the western part of the state listed in Odonata Central.

These dragonflies get their name from the two bars on the top of their thorax These bars look like a corporal’s insignia. According to Paulson (2019), Chalk-fronted Corporals often perch on the ground and on lakeshore vegetation. They also land on trees facing the sun. They are aggressive towards each other. They tend to feed away from the water.