Widow skimmer diet
Top facts The widow skimmer is a large dragonfly with a wingspan of up to 8 cm. The male widow skimmer defends a large territory, regularly partaking in territorial disputes and chases with other males, as well as with other dragonfly species. Description Biology Range Habitat Status Threats Conservation Find out more Glossary References Print factsheet. Copulation lasts for between 10 and 20 seconds and occurs both in flight and at rest, and is followed the female depositing the fertilised eggs into water (5). Widow skimmer biology The flight season of the widow skimmer, when the adults are active, can vary between April and November throughout its range (5). The unique wings of the widow skimmer are dark at the base, white in the middle and transparent at the tips, creating a stripe-like pattern. While the female deposits the eggs, the male will occasionally guard the female to guarantee the eggs are fertilised using his sperm, by ensuring no further copulation occurs with other males (5) (7).
Territories are often defended by groups of widow skimmers. Genus Libellula (1) The widow skimmer ( Libellula luctuosa ) is a large, attractive dragonfly with uniquely patterned wings, which are dark at the base, white in the middle and glass-like on the tips (3) (4). The female has a light brown face, brown eyes (5) and a similar wing pattern to the male, although the wings of the female have a dark smudge at the tip (2) (5) and the base of the wing is paler (5). Occasionally, a group of males will defend a territory, which has one dominant male who is most likely to mate (5). The widow skimmer can be found up to elevations of 1,700 m. The female and juvenile widow skimmer have a dark body with a yellow stripe which extends from the upperside of the thorax to the base of the abdomen, where it splits into two lines (3). The abdomen and the front of the thorax of the male are white and have a powder-like appearance (3) (5), whereas the rest of the thorax, eyes and face are dark brown (5).
