Black-tailed skimmer
The black-tailed skimmer is a dragonfly that loves sunbathing. The grown-up male has a powdery blue tail with a black tip, and the female is deep yellow with wavy black lines. It zooms low and fast, skimming over the water.
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Fun facts
It likes ponds and lakes with bare, sunny shores, where it can rest on the ground or on stones to warm up.
The male's blue colour is like a powder that grows on him as he gets older.
It is one of the most common dragonflies in Europe.
It is spreading further north, helped by warmer weather and new gravel pits full of water.
Its eyes are very dark green.
Most asked questions about Black-tailed skimmer
?Is the black-tailed skimmer dangerous?
No. Dragonflies have no sting and are harmless to people.
?Where can you see a black-tailed skimmer?
At lakes, ponds and slow rivers with bare, sunny shores, where it rests on the ground.
?Why is it called black-tailed?
Because the end of the male's blue tail is black.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Orthetrum cancellatum
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Libellulidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Africa, Asia
Where the facts come from
- Black-tailed skimmer (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 Charles J. Sharp. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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