135 

 Smith and Pritchard: Odonata 



Fig. 4:54. Wings of Brechmorhoga mendax 

 (Needham and Westfall, 1955). 



wing tip hyaline, (British Columbia and Nebraska south 

 to California and Mexico) subomata (Ilagen) 1861 



Naiads 



1. Dorsal hooks on abdominal segments 2 to 6, highest on 



5; all sharp, thornlike lydia 



— Dorsal hooks on abdominal segments 2 to 6, highest on 

 4; all blunt and hairy subornata 



Genus Brechmorhoga Kirby, 1894 



Only one species, Brechmorhoga mendax (Hagen) 

 1861, of this Neotropical genus enters the United 

 States (fig. 4:54). This large grayish species is found 

 in desert regions from California to Texas and Okla- 

 homa and south into Mexico. The naiads are found in 

 sand and gravel beds of pools in torrential streams. 

 Kennedy (1917, p. 605) states that this very grace- 

 ful species takes short beats over streams. He noted 

 that they "fly with a swinging may-flylike motion" 

 and "in the heat of the day they floated around among 

 the tree tops". 



Genus Dythemis Hagen, 1861 

 This is a Neotropical genus with three species enter- 



Fig. 4:55. Wings of Paltothemis lineatipes 

 (Needham and Westfall, 1955). 



Fig. 4:56. Wings of Tromeo abdominal is 

 (Needham and Westfall, 1955). 



ing the southern border of the United States. Dythemis 

 velox Ilagen 1861 occurs as far south as Argentina 

 and is found in Alabama, California, Mississippi, 

 New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas (fig. 4:58). It is 

 a slender blackish species marked with \ellow and 

 brown. It is a very swift flier. The adults perch on 

 tall dry stems with the tip of the abdomen lifted, 

 and they frequently return to the same perch. The 

 naiads are active stream dwellers. Their body colors 

 match the sand over which they run. 



Genus Paltothemis Karsch, 1890 



This genus contains the single species, P. lineatipes 

 Karsch 1890 (=russata Calvert 1895) (fig. 4:55). It 

 occurs from Oklahoma and Texas west to California 

 and south to Brazil. It is a fine large species, rusty 

 red in the male and hoary gray in the female. 



Genus Tramea Hagen, 1861 



These are large, wide-ranging dragonflies, conspic- 

 uously marked with bands of brown across the base of 

 the hind wing (fig. 4:56). The active naiads are green 

 marked with brown. They crawl among trash, silt, and 

 vegetation near the shores of warm quiet ponds and 

 lakes. We prefer to use the well-known name of Tramea 

 rather than the little-known name of 7 'rap ezo stigma 

 applied to this group by Crowley (1935). 



Key to California Species 



Adults 



1. Basal wing band reddish; top of head red (Canada and 



U.S. south to Panama and West Indies) 



onusta Hagen 186 1 



— Basal wing band blackish; top of head black (Canada, 

 U.S., and northern Mexico) lacerata Ilagen 1861 



Naiads 



1. Fourth segment of antennae two-thirds length of the 

 third; lateral anal appendages about nine-tenths as 

 long as superiors onusta 



— Fourth segment of antennae half as long as the third; 



