Flame Skimmer Dragonfly – Libellula saturata

Flame Skimmer - Libellula saturata (female): perched, hunting

The warm weather of late spring brings
many interesting insects to S. California gardens.  Among the most fascinating are the
dragonflies.  From May through fall,
dragonflies may be seen in any garden providing insects for them to eat.  One of the more common – at least in western
Los Angeles County - is the Flame Skimmer, Libellula saturata.  The scientific name for this species is
pronounced lie-BELL-you-luh 
sat-you-RAY-tuh.

Dragonflies and the closely-related damselflies are
carnivorous insects in the order Odonata.  The odonates are an ancient group of insects:
fossil dragonflies are  documented from well
before the time of the dinosaurs (early ancestors from the Carboniferous Period).  At that time, some odonates were huge, with
wingspans several feet wide.  Today’s
dragonflies are smaller, but still have some of the prehistoric characteristics
that make them ‘living fossils’.

Dragonflies have several notable
characteristics.  First they have
relatively large heads, equipped with large, compound eyes.  In fact, dragonfly vision is among the best
in the world.  Dragonflies also have two
sets of elongated wings, which allow them to maneuver in flight in astounding
ways.

Like many insects, dragonflies go through several
developmental stages before reaching adulthood. 
True to their ancient lineage, the juvenile forms (nymphs) are aquatic
or semi-aquatic.  Eggs are laid in water,
on vegetation near water or in other moist places.  That’s why dragonflies are commonly seen
around ponds, pools, marshes and slow-moving streams.   If you have dragonflies in your garden,
there likely is a water source nearby.

Flame Skimmers (Libellula saturata) and Neon Skimmers:

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Claremont CA

 

Flame
skimmers are among the larger local dragonflies.  They belong to the family Libellulidae – the Skimmers – the
largest dragonfly family, with over 1000 species.  This family includes dragonflies that hunt
for prey while flying, as well as those who perch and wait for prey.  The Flame skimmer is one of the latter, making
it relatively easy to photograph. 

Flame
Skimmers are native to western U.S. from ID and WY to California, TX and
northern Mexico.  Adults range in size
from 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cm) long.  The
males are entirely bright orange, including their body, eye, legs and
wings.  We don’t have good photographs of
a male, but recommend the excellent images from references 1 and 2, below.     The
only local species that are remotely similar are the Neon Skimmer (more
brilliant red in color) and the Cardinal Meadowhawk (usually only seen in the
mountains in our area).

Flame Skimmer - Libellula saturata (female):

 

Females
(above) are a lighter, browner orange (or even brown) with yellow markings.  Their wings have less of an orange tint than
do the males (male wings are orange to ½ their width).  The females also have a conspicuous swelling
on the 7^th section of their abdomen (see arrow on photo above).

Adults
will eat almost any soft-bodied flying insect including mosquitoes, flies,
butterflies, moths, mayflies, and flying ants or termites.  In short, they are good natural pest control agents
– although they also eat butterflies and other pollinators. Flame Skimmers hunt
by perching on a rock or upright branch to wait for prey. They’re always on the alert for big, scary
creatures (like you), as well as their next meal.  They then dart out to catch the hapless
insect.  Watching them hunt is
fascinating! 

Flame
Skimmers lay their eggs in warm water. 
That’s why they are often seen near shallow ponds, lakes, slow-moving
streams, warm marshes and even hot springs. 
   Males are often seen cruising such site,
which they defend from other males. The adults mate during the primary flight
season (May-September). After mating, females lay their eggs by dipping their
abdomens into the water, releasing the eggs.

Flame Skimmer - Libellula saturata (female): this species

 perches to hunt

 

The
immature nymphs (naiads) live in mud on the bottom of warm ponds, streams, and
springs. Like the adults, they wait for their prey to pass by, affording them
protection from other predators.   The
nymphs become quite large (over 1 inch (28 mm) long) and look like a stocky,
hairy insect, with a rounded abdomen.  We
don’t have any naiad photos, but recommend those in references 3 and 4, below.   If you run into them when cleaning your pond,
just release them back into the mud.

Naiads
feed on a wide variety of aquatic insects, such as mosquito larvae, other
aquatic fly larvae, mayfly larvae, and freshwater shrimp. They will also eat
small fish and tadpoles.   When mature,
the adults emerge at night.

Flame Skimmers (Libellula saturata; males) perched and Neon Skimmers (flying):

 Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Claremont CA

 

Watch for
these colorful dragonflies in your summer garden.  Try to get some good pictures, and upload
them to the iNaturalist site (https://www.inaturalist.org/).  If you have a pond, you might even be lucky
enough to see a nymph!

 

Like this
posting?  See our other insect posts at: http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2016/07/insect-postings-mother-natures-backyard.html

 

______________

 

1.   http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/odonata/Flame.htm

2.   https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47817-Libellula-saturata/browse_photos

3.   http://midge.cfans.umn.edu/order-odonata/family-libellulidae

4.   http://bugguide.net/node/view/272092/bgimage

 

We encourage your comments below.  
If you have questions about Duskywing butterflies or other gardening
topics you can e-mail us at :  mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com

 

 

 

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Plant of the Month (May) : California brodiaea – Brodiaea californica

California brodiaea (Brodiaea californica) : Mother Nature's Backyard 

The
parade of native ‘bulbs’ continues to unfold in S. California gardens.  From the early-blooming Red-skinned onion and
Blue dicks, to the late-blooming Tritelias
and Brodiaeas, there’s usually
something of interest from January through May. 
Right now the star geophyte is the California brodiaea, Brodiaea californica [pronounced
bro-DEE-uh  cal-ih-FOR-ni-cuh]. 

As
its name suggests, California brodiaea is endemic to California, gracing the
foothills and meadows of the North Coastal Ranges and northern Sierra Nevadas.  It grows in gravelly, clay soils or
serpentine, in the grassland, open woodland and chaparral communities, up to
about 3000 ft. (900 m.) elevation.  But
it grows surprisingly well in a range of garden soils and climates, making it a
staple perennial in local gardens.   It is variously placed in the Lilliacieae or the Themidaceae, along with the California native Bloomeria, Dichelostema, Muilla and Triteleia. 

California brodiaea (Brodiaea californica) : corms

 

Brodiaea californica is a corm-producing perennial.  It dies back to its underground storage organ
(the corm) after producing seeds.  The
corm is rounded and has coarse, brown fibers (see above).   The plants remain dormant until the winter
rains, when the stems begin to grow again. 
The plants first produce several leaves; then, with the warmer weather,
they quickly send up flowering stalks and begin to flower.  In our S. California gardens, the first green
appears around February and flowering commences in late April or early May.  Flowering can last up to three to four weeks.

California brodiaea (Brodiaea californica) : foliage

 

The
leaves of Brodiaea californica are
long and narrow – up to ½ inch wide and 24 inches long.  Like most in this genus, the leaves are fleshy
and medium green.  In a dry spring, the
leaves will begin to yellow and dry at their tips as flowering begins.

 

California brodiaea (Brodiaea californica) : flower and buds

 

Flowers
are grouped in starburst-like umbels atop stout stems.  Each umbel contains 8-12 upright flowers,
each flower about 1-1 ½ inches (2.4-3.8 cm) in length (see above).  The flowers may be white or pale pink, but
those in Mother Nature’s Backyard are a lovely pale lavender. 

California brodiaea (Brodiaea californica) : close-up of flowers

 

The
flowers themselves have a specialized form. 
The perianth (fused petals and sepals; three of each) forms a long tube
with a flared opening (see above).  The pollen-producing
stamens are surrounded by an upright, white, tube-like structure formed by the staminodia
(sterile stamens).    

Such
specialized floral architecture often reflects adaptation to specific types of
pollinators.  We recently observed a
hummingbird carefully visiting every flower. 
We were surprised to learn that little is known about the pollination of
Brodiaea californica.  We will continue to observe and photograph any
potential pollinators, with the goal of adding to our knowledge of this
species. We’ll also be more observant regarding the production of viable
seeds.   Here’s hoping!

California brodiaea (Brodiaea californica) : lovely late spring color

 

California
brodiaea is an easy plant to grow.  Once
planted in the ground or in a pot, it needs only adequate winter/spring
moisture and relatively dry conditions through the summer/fall to succeed and
multiply.  In fact, as it hails from N.
California, these corms can even take occasional summer water – just don’t
over-do.

California
brodiaea does fine in full sun to part-shade; morning sun is probably optimal
in our drier S. California gardens.  If
you’re growing it in a container, provide a layer of fresh potting mix or ½ strength
fertilizer in winter/early spring.

 If flowering starts to decrease – or pots seem
over-crowded – thin the corms in the fall. You’ll probably only need to do this
every third or fourth year.  For more on
caring for native corms, see: http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2017/02/gardening-with-california-native-bulbs.html

 

California brodiaea (Brodiaea californica) : glorious massed

 

This
is truly one of the prettiest California native ‘bulbs’.  The robust foliage and flowers compete well
with other native wildflowers.  We love
the look of it with California poppy, the Clarkias and Gilias.   Masses
of Brodiaea californica provide
pastel color when many spring-flowering annuals are already done for the season
(in S. California).  We welcome anything that provides color in the ‘between
seasons’ period of May and early June.

Its
size makes Brodiaea californica a
good candidate for the foreground in mixed beds.  It also makes a good filler around perennial
grasses, shrubs and herbaceous perennials. 
This is one of our all-time favorites for containers; it’s truly a
conversation piece. Place a container of California brodiaea near an outdoor
seating area for maximum enjoyment.    The corms were apparently eaten by native
Californians, though we have yet to try them.  
We’ll try to learn more about their preparation.

In
summary, California brodiaea is one of our favorite native ‘bulbs’.  It’s pretty, adaptable, robust and easy to
grow.  We hope you’ll consider adding a
pot or two to your own garden.   Just
remember to order bulbs in summer – they sell out fast!

 

California brodiaea (Brodiaea californica) : lovely container plant

Home garden, Redondo Beach, CA

 

 

For a
gardening information sheet see: https://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/gardening-sheet-brodiaea-californica

For more
pictures of this plant see: https://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/brodiaea-californica-web-show

For plant
information sheets on other native plants see: http://nativeplantscsudh.blogspot.com/p/gallery-of-native-plants_17.html

 

 

We
welcome your comments (below).  You can
also send your questions to: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com

 

 

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