About Ladona deplanata (Rambur, 1842)
Ladona deplanata, commonly known as the blue corporal, is a small, thickset dragonfly, with a total body length ranging from 29 to 40 mm, or 1.1 to 1.6 inches. Mature males have a dark brown thorax marked with two broad, bluish pruinose stripes on the front, a pruinose blue abdomen, a black face, and dark brown eyes. Females are brown overall. Each side of the female thorax has one narrow pale stripe and one equally narrow black stripe, and a black dorsal stripe runs down the center of her abdomen, growing wider toward the posterior end. Female faces and eyes are brown. Both sexes have clear wings, with short black streaks at the wing bases, and a smaller amber streak often sits between these black streaks. The blue corporal is common and widespread across the eastern United States. Its range extends from Oklahoma east to New Hampshire in the northern part of its distribution, and south to Texas and Florida. It prefers still, low-nutrient waters with sandy bottoms, including ponds, lakes, and excavated pits. It breeds less often in streams compared to its close relatives.
