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| The quiet waters of a pond like this make great dragonfly habitat |
Dragonflies are conspicuous visitors to various bodies of water, especially in the warmer months of the year. These visitors include members of the largest family of dragonflies, the Libellulidae, otherwise known as the skimmers. Skimmers can be large and colorful, some with distinctive wing patterns, and are often seen perching on twigs and branches. In late summer, especially after summer rains, some locally common but not often observed species can be found around newly refilled ponds, including the Gray-waisted Skimmer (Cannaphila insularis), Needham’s Skimmer (Libellula needhami), and Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta).
Found in shady or marshy ponds, typically with tall reeds or cattails, the male Gray-waisted Skimmer has greenish-blue eyes, a white face in front and metallic blue on top, and a dark brown or black thorax divided by several pale stripes. Its abdomen is pruinose gray on the front half and black on the back half, and its wings are clear with extreme dark only at the tips. Females and juveniles have a yellow-orange abdomen marked with dark brown or black. Gray-waisted Skimmers are often found perching in the shade at the tips of vegetation, with their abdomen held nearly parallel to the perch.
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| Gray-waisted Skimmer, male |
The male Needham’s Skimmer has reddish-orange eyes and face, and a thorax than is orange in front and paler or more tannish on the sides. Its abdomen is reddish-orange with a dark dorsal stripe down the length, and its orange wings are somewhat darker along the leading edge. Females and juveniles have brown eyes and faces, a yellowish-brown thorax, and their abdomens are yellow with a dark stripe running down the middle. Needham’s Skimmers are typically found perching low on vegetation or overhanging the water’s edge.
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| Needham's Skimmer, male |
Most often seen around marshy forest ponds, the male Slaty Skimmer has dark eyes and a metallic blue or violet face, and both the thorax and abdomen have an overall slaty-blue pruinescence. The wings are typically clear, but can have a pale bluish stripe along the leading edge. Females and juveniles have red-over-gray eyes and a pale face, a cream-colored thorax with broad dark shoulder stripes, and a black abdomen with yellowish-orange markings. Females also have more prominent dark wing tips and develop a pale pruinosity at maturity. Males perch on top of tall grasses and sticks most often in sunlit areas.
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| Slaty Skimmer, male |
Check out your local pond or body of water before the end of September, and you just might be rewarded with a sighting of these less common, late summer skimmers!
