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| 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.
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| 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).
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| 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 7th 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
______________
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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