Flame Skimmer
Libellula saturata
Unlike most other skimmer dragonflies whose bright color is limited to the abdomen, the male flame skimmer is completely saturated with orange pigment across its head, thorax, legs, and wing veins.
- Scientific name
- Libellula saturata
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Odonata › Libellulidae › Libellula
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Warm slow-moving streams, marshy ponds, springs, stock tanks, and irrigation ditches, especially in arid or semi-arid landscapes.
- Diet
- Carnivorous; aquatic nymphs consume mosquito larvae, aquatic worms, and small invertebrates, while adults catch flying insects on the wing.
- Range
- United States, Mexico
- Size
- 50–60 mm in length with an 70–80 mm wingspan
- Lifespan
- 1–2 yr
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Wetland degradation, drought, water diversion for agriculture, and pesticide accumulation in freshwater habitats.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to humans. Flame skimmers do not possess a stinger and their mouthparts are too small to break human skin. No special distance is required; observe freely without interfering with their perches or breeding sites.
The flame skimmer or firecracker skimmer ( Libellula saturata ) is a common dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, native to western North America.
Photo: Katja Schulz, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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