This week for Flora and Fauna Friday it’s a large fiery dragonfly found all along our coastal waters, the Needham’s Skimmer (Libellula needhami).
The Needham’s skimmer is a fairly large dragonfly that’s best identified by its brilliant coloration. Males range from street-sign yellow when young to a burnt-orange or neon-garnet when mature. The bulk of their color is on their abdomen but, in mature males, that’s matched by deep red eyes and an equally colorful mouth. Females are more subdued and range from lemon-yellow to a dull beige. Both sexes sport a colored stigma at the wing tip with a trail of translucent orange or yellow down the leading edge. Both males and females have a black stripe that runs down the full length of the back of the abdomen. There is another very similar species called the Golden-winged Skimmer that is found more inland. The Golden-winged Skimmer isn’t found on Edisto Island, so I won’t go into fine detail, but the easiest way to tell the two apart is by the pattern on the side of the thorax in females and juveniles. Golden-winged has diagonal lines leading from wing to leg whereas Needham’s has a pale blotch that points towards the neck. The two species don’t often occur together but both can be found in the Lowcountry.
Needham’s Skimmer are an easy species to spot here in the coastal plain. Not only are they brightly colored but they love to wander about at eye level and perch along marshes and open ponds. They dart out over fields, marsh, and water to grab insects on the wing. This species is very common in the Lowcountry and can be found along the outskirts of most any tidal river. Needham’s Skimmers breed in brackish wetlands and are prolific around the outskirts of the saltmarsh. During much of the summer they’re often the most numerous dragonfly around the Island.
