Epitheca Charpentier 1840

Epitheca is a genus of dragonflies in the family Corduliidae. They are commonly known as baskettails. Baskettails' distinction is the specially adapted, upturned abdomen tip of the females which allows them to carry their egg masses in a small, orange-tinted globule.^[1]

Some authorities spin off the North American baskettails into two new genera, Epicordulia and Tetragoneuria, but this has not gained widespread acceptance and most references place them under this genus.^[2]

Species

The genus contains the following species:^[3]

• Epitheca bimaculata (Charpentier, 1825) – Eurasian baskettail
• Epitheca canis (McLachlan, 1886) – beaverpond baskettail
• Epitheca costalis (Selys, 1871) – slender baskettail or stripe-winged baskettail
• Epitheca cynosura (Say, 1840) – common baskettail
• Epitheca marginata (Selys, 1883)
• Epitheca petechialis (Muttkowski, 1911) – dot-winged baskettail
• Epitheca princeps Hagen, 1861 – prince baskettail
• Epitheca semiaquea (Burmeister, 1839) – mantled baskettail
• Epitheca sepia (Gloyd, 1933) – sepia baskettail
• Epitheca spinigera (Selys, 1871) – spiny baskettail
• Epitheca spinosa (Hagen in Selys, 1878) – robust baskettail
• Epitheca stella (Williamson in Muttkowski, 1911) – Florida baskettail

Notes

References

• "North American Odonata". University of Puget Sound. 2009. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
• Genus Epitheca - Baskettails, BugGuide
• Image of female baskettail sp. with egg mass on tip of tail