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Widow Skimmer

Libellula luctuosa

Photo by joanbstanley
Published on Project Noah
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31.1119, -97.4685

Field Notes

Description:

Female and immature male Widow Skimmers are quite different from the mature males. They do not have the white marks on their wings, however they do have the brown bands on each wing like the mature males do. The females and young males have a brown thorax in which there is a dorsal stripe of yellow and a brown abdomen edged with yellow stripes.

Habitat:

When Lake Belton overflowed its spillway in 1992, the water carved out a huge canyon and created wetlands that are being preserved as a natural area offering hiking, bird-watching, and wildlife photography.

Notes:

The female Widow Skimmer's physical appearance is the main reason for the first half of the species' common name, comparing the brown-black patches on the their wings to a widow's black veil. In fact, their scientific name luctuosa means sorrowful and mournful.

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