Slaty Skimmer

Libellula incesta

The Slaty Skimmer is a beautiful dragonfly with shiny blue wings. It loves to fly around ponds and lakes, where it catches tiny insects to eat.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Slaty Skimmer is a medium to large dragonfly, known for its deep, powdery blue-gray body in mature males, giving it a 'slaty' appearance. Immature males and females are a dull yellowish-brown. Its wings have notably dark veins and often a faint dark streak at the base of the hindwings.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumArthropodaClassInsectaOrderOdonataFamilyLibellulidaeGenusLibellula

Slaty Skimmer

Interesting facts

Baby Slaty Skimmers live underwater for up to two years before transforming!

Dragonflies can move each of their four wings independently, allowing for incredible flight tricks!

Sometimes, they'll perch on warm rocks to soak up sunshine and get energized!

Their large compound eyes have thousands of tiny lenses for amazing all-around vision!

Special abilities

Slaty Skimmer can catch flying insects mid-air using its keen eyesight and agile flight, helping them secure food.

Slaty Skimmer has special pruinescence that turns its body from brown to powdery blue-gray, signaling its readiness to mate.

Slaty Skimmer larvae live underwater and munch on mosquito larvae, helping to keep aquatic environments healthy.

Slaty Skimmer larvae can camouflage themselves in pond muck, quickly ambushing prey that swims too close.

Measurements & details

Wingspan: 70-86 mm
Size: 45-58 mm
Lifespan: 30-180 days
Flight Speed: 45 km/h
Leg Count: 6

Diet & Feeding

These speedy hunters snatch up smaller insects right out of the air for a tasty meal!

Age differences: Larvae (nymphs) are aquatic ambush predators, eating insect larvae and small aquatic creatures; adults hunt flying insects.

Primary Foods

Mosquitoes
Flies
Midges
Smaller moths
Gnats

Foraging Method

Pursuit

Ecological connections

hunts

Common House Mosquito

Culex pipiens

Larvae actively hunt and eat their aquatic larvae.

eaten by

American Bullfrog

Lithobates catesbeianus

Adult Slaty Skimmers are prey for larger frogs.

eaten by

Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus

Birds catch adult dragonflies in mid-air.

hunts

Fruit Fly

Drosophila melanogaster

Adults actively pursue and eat small flying insects.

Traits

Aerial

Aerial creatures spend a significant portion of their lives airborne, utilizing flight for various activities such as hunting, migration, or nesting.

Colorful

Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.

Insectivorous

This trait identifies organisms whose diet primarily consists of insects and other small invertebrates.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.