ARROW CLUBTAIL & Elusive Clubtail

I apologize for the quality of these shots, but Arrow Clubtails are VERY difficult to capture in flight. They spend most of their time perched high in trees, and they only occasionally come down to the river for quick, sweeping patrols. 

Arrow Clubtails belong to the family of hanging clubtails. They have dark green eyes, thick stripes on the sides of their thorax, and a long, slender abdomen with tiny yellow spots. Most importantly, Segment 9 is very elongated in this species. 

Here is a teneral Arrow Clubtail in the process of emerging (with a bonus Eastern Amberwing!). 

Arrow Clubtails have a late flight period. I have seen them from August through early October at one spot along the Mad River. 

This clubtail is a holy grail among dragonfly enthusiasts. This is the rarely-seen Elusive Clubtail. There is a good population of Elusive Clubtails at Otto Armleder Park near Cincinnati, where all of the Elusives on this page were photographed. 

Elusive Clubtails are very similar to Arrow Clubtails, but their eyes are bluish-green rather than hunter green. Also, Segment 9 is not as long on an Elusive Clubtail as it would be on an Arrow Clubtail. 

Elusive Clubtails are not known to occur in the Dayton area, but they can be found at Otto Armleder from August through October (and early November if the weather holds). This one was photographed on November 3, 2024. 

Arrow Clubtails are scarce in the Dayton area. They prefer sandy-bottomed rivers, but most of our rivers have mud or rock bottoms. 

I literally spent hours standing in the middle of the Mad River to capture these images of an Arrow Clubtail! 

Female Elusive Clubtail, resting on a sycamore leaf at Otto Armleder. 

The Elusive Clubtails at Otto Armleder will often perch on the rocks in cooler weather, presumably so they can warm themselves up by basking in the sun. This is somewhat odd behavior for a stylurus clubtail. They usually perch by hanging from leaves, rather than on the ground, but many Elusives at Otto Armleder have been photographed on the rocks. 

It takes a lot of searching to find Elusive Clubtails. They don't call them elusive for nothing!