The twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula pulchella) is a common North American skimmer dragonfly, found in southern Canada and in all 48 of the contiguous U.S. states.
| Twelve-spotted skimmer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male | |
 | |
| Female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Infraorder: | Anisoptera |
| Family: | Libellulidae |
| Genus: | Libellula |
| Species: | L. pulchella |
| Binomial name | |
| Libellula pulchella (Drury, 1773) | |
It is a large species, at 50 mm (2.0 in) long. Each wing has three brown spots. In adult males, additional white spots form between the brown ones and at the bases of the hindwings; it is sometimes called the ten-spot skimmer for the number of these white spots.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Libellula pulchella.
Wikispecies has information related to Libellula pulchella.
- Dunkle, Sidney W. (2000). Dragonflies through Binoculars. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 173–174. ISBN 0-19-511268-7.
- Needham, James G.; Minter J. Westfall Jr.; Michael L. May (2000). Dragonflies of North America (rev. ed.). Gainesville, FL: Scientific Publishers. pp. 719–720. ISBN 0-945417-94-2.
- Mead, Kurt (2009). Dragonflies of the North Woods (Second ed.). Duluth, MN: Kollath+Stensaas Publishing. pp. 134–135. ISBN 978-0-9792006-5-6.