Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonflies (males)

The following photos show two Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula pulchella) perching alongside the boardwalk in the central wetland area at Huntley Meadows Park on 12 September 2014. These individuals are adult males, as indicated by their coloration and terminal appendages.

Male 1

Male 2

Related Resources: Digital Dragonflies, presenting high-resolution digital scans of living dragonflies.

• Genus Libellula | Libellula pulchella | Twelve-spotted Skimmer | male | top view
• Genus Libellula | Libellula pulchella | Twelve-spotted Skimmer | male | side view

Eight-spotted Skimmer (Libellula forensis) is a similar looking species of dragonfly found in the western United States, but as I said in a recent post, similar is not the same. Contrast the wing spots nearest the wing tips for males of both species: notice those spots are white for Eight-spotted Skimmers; black for Twelve-spotted Skimmers.

Copyright © 2015 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Tags: adult male, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula pulchella, terminal appendages, Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly, wildlife photography