Lilypad whiteface
The lilypad whiteface is a dragonfly with a bright white face. The male is dark, with white on its face, its tail and the tips of its wings. Its tail ends in a wide club, and it loves to sit on floating water-lily leaves.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
Males often sit on water-lily leaves and lift their tails up in the air.
Its babies have big spines on their bodies. They help them stay safe in ponds full of fish.
In cold Scandinavia a baby can live under water for up to three years before it flies. In warmer places it takes about one year.
It almost vanished from several countries, but it has come back and is now getting more common again.
It is common in the Baltic countries, so you can look for it in Estonia in June.
Most asked questions about Lilypad whiteface
?Where does the lilypad whiteface live?
In Europe and Asia, by ponds and lakes with floating plants such as water-lilies.
?When can you see the lilypad whiteface?
From the middle of May to early August. It is easiest to see in June.
?Is the lilypad whiteface dangerous?
No. Dragonflies have no sting and are harmless.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Leucorrhinia caudalis
- Named by
- Charpentier, 1840
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Libellulidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia
- Also known as
- Dainty white-faced darter
Where the facts come from
- Leucorrhinia caudalis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Renand at German Wikipedia. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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