Black-headed skimmer
The black-headed skimmer is a dragonfly with a black face. The male is blue and black, and the female is yellow to brown. It zooms over calm ponds and slow streams in Australia and nearby islands.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
Its wings have an amber colour near the body, like a drop of honey.
The first part of its scientific name comes from the crocus, the flower that gives us saffron, because of that amber colour.
It is common in many places where it lives.
Males and females look so different that you might think they are two kinds of dragonfly.
Most asked questions about Black-headed skimmer
?Is the black-headed skimmer dangerous?
No. Dragonflies have no sting and do not hurt people.
?Where does the black-headed skimmer live?
In Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, near still or slow water.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Crocothemis nigrifrons
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Libellulidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
- Also known as
- Blue-scarlet dragonfly
Where the facts come from
- Crocothemis nigrifrons (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Summerdrought. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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