Duckweed firetail

Duckweed firetail
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Suborder: Zygoptera
Family: Coenagrionidae
Genus: Telebasis
Species:
T. byersi
Binomial name
Telebasis byersi
(Westfall, 1957)
Map of the United States, with shading along the Atlantic coast from Delaware to Florida, west to Texas, and north along the Mississippi River to Illinois.
Range map of the duckweed firetail (Telebasis byersi).

The duckweed firetail (Telebasis byersi) is a small species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae. It occurs only in the United States, primarily the southeast.[2]

Description

Two adult damselflies hanging from a leaf, with one grasping the other behind its head.
A male duckweed firetail grasping a female.

Telebasis byersi is a small pond damselfly. Adults are 25–31 millimetres (0.98–1.22 in) long.[3] Adult males are bright red with some black markings on the head and thorax, with eyes red above and yellow below. Females are brown and tan.[4] Nymphs are 13–16 millimetres (0.51–0.63 in) long and stocky, generally green or brown, with banding on the eyes and few other definite markings. The adult's red abdomen is visible through the skin on nymphs ready to emerge.[5]

Adults are similar in appearance to Telebasis salva, but can be distinguished by range (except for a possible overlap in Texas).[6] Nymphs may be distinguished from T. salva using various characters.[5]

Name

Its common name "duckweed firetail" refers to its habitat preference (duckweed-covered ponds) and its classification in Telebasis, the firetail damselflies. Its specific epithet byersi was chosen in honor of the entomologist C. F. Byers.[7]

Distribution

Telebasis byersi is found primarily along the United States east coast, from Maryland south to Florida. It also occurs, less commonly, from Louisiana and Texas north to Ohio.[6]

Its range in North Carolina is expanding inland from the coastal plain into the Piedmont.[8]

Habitat

The duckweed firetail lives in swampy ponds or pools with carpets of duckweed, water lettuce, or other floating vegetation, and in swamps and sluggish streams.[3][4] Nymphs can be found living in these floating vegetation masses.[5] It may prefer areas where Eastern Pondhawks, a presumed predator, are not abundant.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Paulson, D.R., Guzmán Ojeda, R.J. & González-Soriano, E. (2021). "Telebasis byersi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021 e.T51364233A166693236. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T51364233A166693236.en. Retrieved 2026-07-05.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ Bick, G. H.; Bick, J. C. (1995). "A review of the genus Telebasis with descriptions of eight new species (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae)". Odonatologica. 24 (1): 11–44.
  3. 1 2 Westfall, Minter J.; May, Michael L. (1996). Damselflies of North America. Scientific Publishers.
  4. 1 2 Paulson, Dennis (2011). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East. Princeton Field Guides.
  5. 1 2 3 Westfall, Minter J. (1957). "A new species of Telebasis from Florida (Odonata: Zygoptera)". The Florida Entomologist. 40 (1): 19–27.
  6. 1 2 Garrison, Rosser W. (2009). "A synopsis of the genus Telebasis (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)". International Journal of Odonatology. 12 (1): 1–121.
  7. ↑ Tennessen, K. J. (1986). "Dr Minter Jackson Westfall, Jr: a short biographical sketch and bibliography". Odonatologica. 15 (1): 5–17.
  8. 1 2 LeGrand, Harry E.; Howard, Thomas E.; Petranka, John; Shields, Mark A. (2025). "The Odonata of North Carolina, Part 1: Introduction and Zygoptera". Bulletin of American Odonatology. 14 (2): 27–28.
Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Telebasis byersi.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.