Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella) - When a Subject Won't Sit Still for a Photo



Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella) in flight
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2011. Do not copy.

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In the course of trying to identify every creature that lives in my yard, there are many that I can simply pick up, or follow around until they sit still long enough for me to take photos and make my observations. Then again, there are some that simply won’t cooperate. That’s when technology comes into play.

I have an older model digital camera, that has some automatic settings for different occasions. One of them is the sports or action setting which uses a faster shutter speed to try to eliminate the blurring that can be caused when trying to photograph a subject in motion. Because of the short exposure though, it requires a brightly lit situation.

The other problem is that I can’t lock the focus on an object that is rapidly changing its distance from the camera. To get around this problem, I watch the subject’s path for a while and choose a spot where I expect it to pass again. Then I lock the focus at that distance by holding down the button that I press to take a picture halfway and waiting for a green signal. Once I have that, I continue to hold the button in that position and point the camera at the spot I’ve chosen. Then I wait. Sometimes, the subject doesn’t follow my plans and I get nothing.

Sometimes, however, it does fly or run within the selected field of view and I am able to snap a picture. As a rule, these pictures (with my point and shoot, autofocus camera) don’t come out as well as pictures with posed subjects that are sitting still, but sometimes they are good enough for an identification photo. Such was the case with the Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella).  

·         How to Catch and Hold a Dragonfly Safely (for both of you)—Remember, despite the widespread myth to the contrary, dragonflies don’t bite or sting and are completely harmless to people!

There are few dragonflies for which this photo would be good enough for identification, but the twelve-spotted skimmer is one. The Twelve-spotted skimmer has, of course, twelve black (or dark brown)spots on its wings, three on each of its four wings. These are separated by two white spots on each wing in the adult males. These white spots will be absent in females or immature males says bugguide.net. Unlike beetles, of course, dragonflies and damselflies actively use both the hind wings and the fore wings for flying.

Twelve-spotted dragonflies belong to the Skimmer family (Libellulidae), the same family to which two other dragonflies that we have found in my yard belong: the Cherry-faced (or Ruby) Meadowhawk and the Crimson-ringed Whiteface. Even though they are related to these other families, I like to learn something new with every species that I find. So let’s take a closer look at the Skimmer Family.

What Makes Skimmers Different from other Dragonfly Families?

So what separates the skimmers from the other families of dragonflies? Our Audubon Field Guide tells us that Skimmers have bodies (.75”-2.5”long) that are shorter than their wingspans (1”-4”). The wings often have spots or bands and the bodies tend to be brightly colored. The nymphs, or naiads as they are also called, tend to live in warmer, shallower waters than those of other dragonfly families and mature faster. As we have seen with the Meadowhawks, the females may be a different color than mature males and may be mistaken for different species by the average person.

All of the dragonflies and damselflies that I have thus far found in my yard, breed in water. They need ponds or slow moving rivers in which to lay their eggs and grow as nymphs. There really isn’t such a body of water on my property. The nearest is probably a half mile away as the dragonfly flies. I just point this out to show that these insects can cover quite a lot of territory as they seek feeding grounds.

Range: Twelve-spotted skimmers live all across the lower 48 states and into Canada.

When are they here? Twelve spotted skimmers may be found flying from May to September in New Hampshire, but the nymphs overwinter here so they are present as a species all year round.

Their diet and behaviors are otherwise similar to those of the crimson-ringed White-face so I won’t repeat them again.