Common Baskettail (terminal appendages)

A male and female Common Baskettail dragonfly (Epitheca cynosura) were spotted recently at the same location in Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

Male and female Common Baskettails look similar. Terminal appendages can be used to identify gender.

Male

Male dragonflies have three terminal appendages, collectively called “claspers,” that are used to grab and hold female dragonflies during mating: an upper pair of cerci (“superior appendages”); and a lower unpaired epiproct (“inferior appendage”).

03 MAY 2017 | Fairfax County, VA | Common Baskettail (male)

(See a full-size version of the original photo, without annotation.)

Female

Female dragonflies have a pair of cerci (superior appendages) that have little or no function. The abdomen of female Common Baskettails is noticeably thicker than males of the same species.

03 MAY 2017 | Fairfax County, VA | Common Baskettail (female)

(See a full-size version of the original photo, without annotation.)

A better view of the subgenital plate is provided by the following digital scan of the underside of the abdomen of a female Common Baskettail. The subgenital plate looks a little like a pair of calipers. Also known as vulvar lamina, the subgenital plate is located under the ninth abdominal segment (S9) of some female odonates and “serves to hold eggs in place during exophytic oviposition.” Remember that all dragonflies and damselflies have a 10-segmented abdomen, numbered from front to back.

Image used with permission from Ed Lam.

Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

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Tags: 03MAY2017, cerci, claspers, Common Baskettail dragonfly, epiproct, Epitheca cynosura, Fairfax County, male, subgenital plate, terminal appendages, Virginia, vulvar lamina