Blue Skimmer
Young Male, dorsal
Blue Skimmer
Female, profile
| Blue Skimmer Young Male, dorsal | | Blue Skimmer Female, profile | | ||
 | Class: | Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) | |||
| Order: | Dragonflies (Odonata) | ||||
| Family: | Skimmer (Epiprocta: Libellulidae) iNaturalist Observation | ||||
| Species: | Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonicum) | ||||
| This Photo: | 🔍Male, profile🔎 | ||||
Thank you Reiner Richter for confirming the id of this species for us General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA), the Adelaide Hills and elsewhere The recent male we measured was ~47mm long with ~77mm wingspan. These can be difficult to distinguish as both genders are yellow and black when young. As they age they turn blue. The males go a bright, light sky blue; the females become grey blue. All males have 3 longer appendages on the rear, the females 2 shorter appendages. If you are able to take a ventral photo, the males have additional genetals near the join between body & tail. This is what the female connects to when they are mating. There is another very similar species found in SA, called a Black-headed Skimmer (Crocothemis nigrifrons). As the name suggests, the male has a black head & face (the blue skimmer has a yellow face). The female is very pale grassy brown, with a think black line down it's abdomen. | |||||
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