Nebraska Dragonflies and Damselflies

Horned Clubtail

Arigomphus cornutus

Tough, 1900

The Horned Clubtail lacks an abdominal club. It has a greenish thorax with black stripes and a black abdomen with a light stripe along the top. It has blue eyes and black legs. The male has distinctive wide forked yellow claspers, shaped like cow horns. The female looks similar to the male. Both sexes have a large sloped bridge (occiput) between the eyes.

This is a widespread mid-western species with a few records inthe Black Hills and eastern Wyoming. The mid-western range is atits southern limit in Iowa, and the records in the northerncounties of Nebraska and southern counties of South Dakota connectthe mid-western populations with a small cluster of records in theBlack Hills. The Lincoln County record is the southernmost for thespecies. This is an uncommon pond species often seen resting on lily pads or on bare areas of the shore.

Green indicates accepted county record (specimen or photograph).
Yellow indicates sight record only.