The Twelve Spotted Skimmer is one of the most beautiful types of dragonfly.  The Latin name means, “Pretty”.  The scientific name is Libellula pulchella.   The skimmer is found in many parts of the world, like Europe and North America.  The males and female skimmers have twelve brown spots on their wings, which makes them easy to identify.  The Twelve Spotted Skimmer is a very unique dragon fly.

The Twelve Spotted Skimmer has many unique talents. The Adult is pretty large for a dragonfly with a length of 2- 2 1/2 inches.  Each wing is marked with three brown/black spots. It is also called the 10-spotted Skimmer by counting the white spots of mature males, two on each forewing and three on each hind wing. The body is long, slender, and usually brown or black and often with bright markings. The wings are usually transparent, held straight out from the body when at rest.  The skimmer is one of the world’s fastest insects, with speed that range from 19 to 38 mph. Another interesting fact is that they have excellent eyesight that gives them nearly a 360 degree field of vision, both speed and vision is important in escaping prey.

The Twelve Spotted Skimmer has been photographed throughout the world.This species is found in British Columbia east to Nova Scotia, also found in most of the United States from California to Florida. The world population of the twelve spotted skimmer is unknown, unprotected non game species, but populations are widespread, abundant, and secure with a global rank of G5.  The ranks are issued by the network of Natural Heritage Programs and Conservation Data Centers. Researchers are also watching the dragonfly population, because they are very important in mosquito control throughout the world.  It will be interesting to see if the skimmer continues to be a popular dragonfly to be photographed.

Skimmers are a good friend for humans. The Skimmer is normally found near lakes, ponds and marshes, particularly those with exposed shorelines.  The skimmer will eat just about anything from soft-bodied flying insect like mosquitoes, butterflies, moths, flies, and flying ants or termites. Adults generally fly from early June through August. Males establish and defend territories, and are very aggressive towards members of their own species as well as other dragonflies. After males and females mate, the female flies singly, without the male attached, to lay her eggs. She does this by dipping the tip of her abdomen in the shallows of the body of water while hovering just above the water's surface.  Skimmers are human’s friends because they keep mosquito populations under strict control by feasting on them when they are in abundance.

One of the most important qualities of the skimmer is the fact that they help keep humans safe by controlling the populations of insects, mostly mosquito’s who spread bad diseases, like malaria.  The skimmer stood out in my mind for having the title of being the fastest of all insects. The Twelve spotted Skimmer is indeed one of the prettiest insects and among the oldest.  Fossil records go back to Carboniferous times, which means that the insects were flying more than 300 million years ago, predating dinosaurs by over 100 million years and birds by some 150 million.

Author: Justin M.
Published: 3/2013

Bibliography: "Twelve-Spotted Skimmer." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1975.World Book Encyclopedia. USA, 266pp, and 687pp. 1/31/2012
http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/bio/insects/drgnfly/libefam/lipu/lipufr.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-spotted_Skimmer 2/2/2012
http://bugguide.net/node/view/3407 2/6/2012

 

Picture credit: http://sci.windwolf.org/crex/bug/dr/cm12spot.htm 2/6/2012