ASHY CLUBTAIL AND LANCET CLUBTAIL
This is a Lancet Clubtail. These dragonflies are very small compared to most of the other clubtails I see. Lancet Clubtails get their name from a downward-projecting blade on the cerci, which distinguishes this species from the Ashy Clubtail in close-up photos.
Ashy Clubtail, photographed at Germantown MetroPark. This species has a lot of regional variation. In other parts of North America, Ashy Clubtails have much duller colors and little or no yellow on the top of the club (Segment 9). However, most of the Ashy Clubtails in our area are brightly-colored.
Ashy Clubtails have an early flight period. They can be found from early May through mid-June. They are fairly widespread. There is a good population at Germantown MetroPark. I have also seen Ashy Clubtails at several of the Beaver Creek Wetlands parks, Spring Lakes Park in Bellbrook, Clifton Reserve, Bill Yeck Park, Glen Helen, Taylorsville MetroPark, and a few locations along the Little Miami River.
This is another Lancet Clubtail. I have found Lancet Clubtails at Pointe North in Urbana and a few other locations, but I see them far less often than Ashies. Many field guides say that Lancets are the more common of the two species, but my experience has been exactly the opposite.
Ashy Clubtail cerci
Lancet Clubtail cerci
This is another Ashy Clubtail. They can be difficult to distinguish from the similar Lancet Clubtails. In the field, Lancets are noticeably smaller. Ashies are longer and thinner; Lancets are short and chunky. The club on a male Ashy is thin and narrow, but the club is a bit wider in a Lancet. Lancets often have a long yellow streak on the top of Segment 8, whereas Ashies usually have a shorter streak or yellow triangle. Also, adult Ashy Clubtails tend to have violet-gray eyes rather than the blue-green eyes of a mature Lancet. (But older Ashies can have blue-green eyes, so do not rely on this feature alone.)
This Ashy Clubtail is not as brightly marked as most of the individuals in our area. It has only a thin, faint line of yellow on the top of Segment 9. In other geographic regions, Ashy Clubtails tend to have duller colors like this.
Teneral Ashy Clubtail at Germantown MetroPark.
Lancets typically fly in late May and June, although I have one late sighting on July 11th. Their fight period runs a little later than Ashies, but there is plenty of overlap. You are more likely to see Lancets at ponds, and Ashies at streams and rivers, but there are exceptions in both cases.
This is a close-up of a Lancet Clubtail's club. The club is much wider than an Ashy Clubtail's club would be. (Ashies have hardly any noticeable club.) Also, this Lancet has a complete line on the top of Segment 8. An Ashy would usually have a smaller triangle on the top of S8.
Female Lancet Clubtail, photographed in Pike County, Ohio. She is missing her lower left wing, which I did not even notice when I was photographing her in the field. She was still able to fly just fine.