# 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.

- **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.

## About

The flame skimmer or firecracker skimmer ( Libellula saturata ) is a common dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, native to western North America.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/cc01719a-9a89-4316-bd0d-41f3165b3a53
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47817
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libellula saturata
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/98477/medium.jpg (Katja Schulz, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.