Needham's Skimmer Dragonfly
Libellula needhami
28.5364, -81.0176
Field Notes
Description:
Adult Needham's Skimmers are about 2.1 inches long with reddish-brown eyes. Adult males have a bright red face, a reddish-brown thorax, and a bright reddish-orange abdomen with a black dorsal (top) stripe (Dunkle 2000). Their posterior (rear) wing veins do not become orange, as with Golden-winged Skimmers (Libellula auripennis). The stigma (a
blood-filled blister near the tip of the wing) is red. Females and immature males have a brown face and their thorax is brown dorsally with a pale middle stripe and the sides of the thorax are pale. They have a yellow face, the front half of their wings are tinged yellow, and they have a yellow abdomen with a black dorsal stripe (Nikula et al. 2003).
http://www.acris.nynhp.org/report.php?id=8275
Habitat:
Needham's Skimmer is a coastal species that inhabits ponds, lakes, tidal river areas, and brackish wetlands. (Dunkle 2000, New York Natural Heritage Program 2007, Nikula et al. 2003). Larvae are aquatic and found in the water during this lifestage, whereas adults are terrestrial
and are found in habitats surrounding ponds, lakes, and brackish wetlands.
Notes:
This species of dragonfly was named after James Needham, a famous American entomologist (Dunkle 2000).
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