Long skimmer
The long skimmer is a dragonfly that zooms over rivers, lakes and marshes. It lives in most of Africa and on some warm islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Lately it has been spreading to new places in southern Europe.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
It lives in almost 30 African countries, from Egypt and Morocco all the way down to South Africa.
It was first spotted on the Maltese Islands in 2003, and a year later it was found breeding on the island of Gozo.
It likes fresh water: rivers, swamps, marshes and lakes, even ones that dry up for part of the year.
It also breeds in southern Spain and on the Canary Islands.
Most asked questions about Long skimmer
?Where does the long skimmer live?
In most of Africa, in southern Spain and on islands in the Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands.
?Is the long skimmer dangerous?
No. Dragonflies have no sting and are harmless to people.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Orthetrum trinacria
- Group
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Family
- Libellulidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Odonata > Libellulidae
- Lives on
- Africa, Europe
Where the facts come from
- Orthetrum trinacria (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 Ferran Pestaña. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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