Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Here's a dragonfly that I see semi-regularly and is (at least for males) an easy ID: the Twelve-spotted Skimmer. There is also an Eight-spotted Skimmer in the western part of the US with similar pattern/coloring, but they don't live around here. (It sounds like these 2 dragonfly species occasionally hybridize.)

They used to be called the Ten-spotted Skimmer, getting its name from the 4 prominent white spots on the front wings and 6 on the hind wings, but nowadays we count the 3 black spots on each wing (3x4 = 12). Since the females lack white spots but have the black spots, this new name has the advantage of representing both species. (Many odonates and birds are still named after the more flamboyantly colored gender, and don't describe the other gender at all.)

I talked in the past about distinguishing juvenile versus mature males; this one is just beginning to develop the white tale of the mature male.

June 10, 2022 at Negri-Nepote Native Grassland Preserve
Photo 209943601, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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