Palemouth

Brachydiplax denticauda · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Palemouth
Photo: Graham Winterflood, CC BY-SA

Palemouth dragonflies are small, with a wingspan of about 40 to 60 mm. Males are bright powder-blue on the thorax and abdomen and have a pale-cream labrum, which gives them the name “palemouth”.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Males are bright powder-blue on both thorax and abdomen with a pale-cream labrum.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

The species has a wingspan of roughly 40 to 60 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It prefers habitats with still or slow-moving water.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Palemouth photo 2
Photo: Graham Winterflood, CC BY-SA
Palemouth photo 3
Photo: Graham Winterflood, CC BY-SA
Palemouth photo 4
Photo: Tony Eales, CC BY-SA
Palemouth photo 5
Photo: Graham Winterflood, CC BY-SA

Questions people ask

What does a male Palemouth look like?

Male Palemouth dragonflies are bright powder-blue on the thorax and abdomen and have a pale-cream labrum.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Libellulidae)

Blue DasherBlue DasherPachydiplax longipennisEastern PondhawkEastern PondhawkErythemis simplicicollisCommon WhitetailCommon WhitetailPlathemis lydiaWidow SkimmerWidow SkimmerLibellula luctuosaAutumn MeadowhawkAutumn MeadowhawkSympetrum vicinumCommon DarterCommon DarterSympetrum striolatum

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachydiplax_denticauda

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

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