RAPIDS CLUBTAIL
This is a Rapids Clubtail, a somewhat uncommon and localized species. This is one of our smaller clubtails.
Most of my Rapids Clubtail sightings have been from late May through mid-June (my early and late dates are May 15 and June 27). This species has a mass, synchronized emergence. You need to be in the right place at the right time to see them.
I find Rapids Clubtails at Germantown MetroPark, and also along the Great Miami River at Miamisburg and Taylorsville MetroPark.
The top of the club (Segments 8 and 9) is all black in this Rapids Clubtail. A Lancet or Ashy Clubtail would have yellow on the top of these segments.
Rapids Clubtails have two yellow half-circles on the sides of the club.
The eye color changes with age. This young Rapids Clubtail has pale gray eyes; some of the more mature individuals on this page have dark green eyes.
Female Rapids Clubtail at Germantown MetroPark.
A young female Rapids Clubtail with her wings still pressed together.
I found this teneral male Rapids Clubtail in Miamisburg on May 18, 2022.
This is the same individual as above, before he opened his wings. This was the only Rapids Clubtail I saw in 2022. The species had a terrible year, because the local rivers were flooded by heavy rains at the critical emergence time. That is the danger for a species that relies on a mass emergence strategy. Heavy rainfall at the wrong time can really hurt them. This species rebounded nicely in 2023, when the rivers were lower.
Close-up of a Rapids Clubtail's club.