Female whitetail skimmers will release their fertilized eggs into water, mud, or vegetation
This is a common whitetail skimmer dragonfly photographed near the Zealand River in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. More specifically, this is a male dragonfly. How do the males differ visually from the females? Male whitetail skimmers are a couple inches long. The females are smaller than the males. The males have a wider body than the females. The males also have a distinct white body. The females have a smaller body with a white zigzag pattern on their otherwise brown abdominal. Another way to tell the difference between male and female is by the wing patterns. The males have transparent wings with distinct dark brown bands. The females also have transparent wings, however their pattern involves multiple smaller dark brown spots.
This creature we associate with living flying actually starts it life underwater! Female whitetail skimmers will release their fertilized eggs into water, mud, or vegetation. If the eggs are deposited underwater, this will generally be a smaller body of water, so to avoid fish predation. When it is time to lay her eggs, the female dragonfly will dip her abdomen beneath the water.
Next, green and brown dragonfly larvae develop underwater, feeding on tiny aquatic insects. This phase of their life is the longest. During this time, the dragonfly nymphs have a high mortality rate due to predation from fish, birds, and frogs. These dragonflies are also threatened by natural forces. If their habitat dries out, it will kill them in the process.
Eventually, the juvenile dragonflies crawl out of the water. They will molt into an adult, complete with wings. The bad news is that their adult stage of life only lasts for a few weeks. During this time the dragonflies will mate and lay eggs, starting the next generation.
Male common whitetail skimmers have amazing control of their bodies while in flight. This is due to their need to compete against other dragonflies for mating. Males will use their white tipped abdomen to signal to other approaching dragonflies that this is their territory. The territory of a male common whitetail skimmer can range from around 30 to 100 feet.
Male common whitetail skimmers have amazing control of their bodies while in flight
Did you know?
- Common whitetail skimmer dragonflies prey heavily on mosquitos!
- Common whitetail skimmer dragonflies are active from spring until fall.
- The common whitetail skimmer dragonfly is found across the United States!
- Female common whitetail skimmers resemble female twelve-spotted skimmers.
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