Eight-spotted skimmer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eight-spotted skimmer |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
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| Family: |
Libellulidae
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| Genus: |
Libellula
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| Species: |
L. forensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Libellula forensis Hagen, 1861
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| Range of L. forensis | |
The eight-spotted skimmer (Libellula forensis) is a type of dragonfly. It belongs to the skimmer family, which is a common group of dragonflies.
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What Makes This Dragonfly Special?
This dragonfly has a body shape typical of skimmer dragonflies. It gets its name from the eight black spots found on its wings.
How to Spot an Eight-spotted Skimmer
The eight-spotted skimmer looks a bit like the twelve-spotted skimmer. However, a key difference is that the eight-spotted skimmer does not have black spots on the very tips of its wings.
Male eight-spotted skimmers have an extra cool feature. They have eight white spots that are not see-through. These spots make them stand out!
Where Do They Live?
You can find these dragonflies mostly west of the Rocky Mountains. They prefer to live near ponds and lakes that have muddy bottoms.
Interestingly, some female eight-spotted skimmers living east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains also have white spots. This makes them the only female dragonflies in North America with white spots on their wings.
Size and Flight Season
These dragonflies are about 44 to 50 millimeters long. That's roughly the length of two standard paperclips! You can usually see them flying from April through October.
