Dragonfly ID: The Skimmers

The Libellulidae family of dragonflies covers the skimmers that do not fit into either the emerald or cruiser families.

Dragonfly Resources Types of Dragonflies The Aeshnoidea Aeshnidae - Darners Cordulegastridae - Spiketails Gomphidae - Clubtails Petaluridae - Petaltails The Libelluloidea Emeralds Macromiidae - Cruisers More Dragonfly Facts Dragonfly Pictures

The approximately 105 Libellulidae species makes it the most common family of dragonflies in the United States. Most live in and around slow moving water areas such as ponds and wetlands.

Providing quick identification tips for such a high number of species boils down to providing a few general identification rules of thumb. Here are two.

First, most females of the species tend to have a brown colored abdomen. Identification starts with a close examination of the color and arrangement of the markings on the face, abdomen and wings. All three sets of identification clues need to be considered together.

The picture of dragonfly wings on the left demonstrates the problems associated with using only one characteristic as an identification guide. It shows clear wings with three dark spots per wing. Adding them up, the dragonfly in question has twelve dark spots on its wings. Knowing that skimmers in this family are characterized by spotted wings suggests that the dragonfly in the picture is a skimmer.

Since both the twelve spotted skimmer and the female common skimmer have twelve spots on their wings, knowledge of the markings on the abdomen is still needed to make the proper identification. The female common skimmer has a wider abdomen with triangular marks down the side. The lines down the abdomen of the female twelve spotted skimmer look more solid.

Second, males of the Libellulidae family tend to be more colorful than the females. The meadowhawk group, for example, consists of red or off color red males and brown or off color brown females.

Blue is also a popular dragonfly color. Both male blue dashers and male pondhawks have blue abdomens. The picture on the left shows a dragonfly with a blue abdomen. Which is it, a dasher or pondhawk? Knowing that pondhawks also have a green nose and thorax eliminates them from consideration. Knowing that the male blue dasher has a white nose and yellow stripes on the thorax suggests that the dragonfly in the picture is a male blue dasher.

The following list of dragonflies all fit into the Libellulidae family. Click on any link to learn more about the species.

• Male Variegated Meadowhawk
• Female Western Meadowhawk
• Dot-tailed Whiteface
• Male Common Whitetail
• Female Blue Dasher
• Red-waisted Whiteface
• Female Western Pondhawk

© 2007. Patricia A. Michaels