Diet

• Micrathyria aequalis is a predatory dragonfly. Adults capture small flying insects while making short flights from low perches. The aquatic larvae prey on small aquatic invertebrates and other insect larvae.

Range

• The Spot-tailed Dasher has a broad Neotropical distribution, ranging from the southern United States through Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean to northern South America. It is a native species in Mexico.

• Its documented distribution in Guerrero and neighbouring western Mexican states makes it a reasonable species to encounter around Zihuatanejo, particularly at suitable freshwater and wetland habitats.

Habitat

• It is primarily associated with still or slow-moving water, including lakes, ponds, canals, marshes and temporary or occasionally saline pools.

• Males commonly perch on the tips of sticks, grasses and other waterside vegetation with their wings held relatively still, making short flights before returning to a perch. Females may move farther from the water and perch on shrubs and trees.

• Around Zihuatanejo, suitable habitat includes seasonal ponds, marshy areas, lagoons and quiet freshwater pools, particularly where emergent vegetation provides abundant perching sites.

Description

• The Spot-tailed Dasher is a small to medium-sized dragonfly, about 24–41 mm long. The face is pale, while the eyes are turquoise in living adults. Mature males have a metallic appearance on the rear of the head and vertices.

• The body is predominantly black, marked with pale blue-green markings on the thorax and abdomen. The abdomen has distinctive pale markings, including the characteristic pale spot on the seventh abdominal segment that gives the species its common name.