Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctosa)
The Widow Skimmer is a striking dragonfly with bold wing markings and a habit of returning to favorite perches. Often found around ponds, lakes, and marshes, it is one of those insects that may seem ordinary from a distance but becomes spectacular through a camera lens.
Quick Facts
| Common name: | Widow Skimmer |
| Scientific name: | Libellula luctuosa |
| Family: | Libellulidae |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Size: | About 1.7–2 inches long (42–50 millimeters) |
| Habitat: | Ponds, lakes, marshes, and some slow-moving streams |
| Diet: | Mosquitoes, flies, midges, and other flying insects |
| Range: | Widespread across much of the United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico. |
| Conservation status: | Globally secure |
Widow Skimmers occur across much of the United States and southern Canada, although they are generally absent from much of the Rocky Mountain and Great Basin regions. Their range also extends south into Mexico.
How to Identify a Widow Skimmer
The broad dark patches covering the inner portions of all four wings are the Widow Skimmer’s most recognizable feature. These markings resemble dark fabric draped across the wings, which may explain the insect’s somber name.
Mature males are especially dramatic. They develop bright white bands across their wings, while the abdomen gradually becomes covered with a pale, powdery coating called pruinescence. Females and immature males lack the white wing bands. Females usually have brown wing patches, brown wing tips, and yellow stripes running along the abdomen.
Habitat and Range
Widow Skimmers are usually associated with still or gently moving freshwater. Look for them near ponds, lakes, marshes, wetland edges, and slow streams. Adults frequently rest on reeds, grasses, twigs, and other shoreline vegetation.
A dragonfly may repeatedly leave its perch to catch an insect or chase away a rival, only to return to the same stem a few moments later. This behavior can make the Widow Skimmer a wonderfully cooperative photography subject—at least by dragonfly standards.
Diet and Hunting Behavior
Adult Widow Skimmers hunt mosquitoes, midges, flies, winged ants, and other small insects in flight. Their large compound eyes help them detect movement, while their strong legs form a basket for grabbing prey from the air.
Males may patrol sizable territories around the water. They frequently pursue rival dragonflies and other flying insects that enter their space. Despite all that aerial drama, they often settle back onto an exposed perch between flights.
Life Cycle
Like other dragonflies, the Widow Skimmer begins life in the water. Females deposit eggs into shallow water, where the young hatch into aquatic nymphs.
The nymphs live among underwater plants and structures, feeding on aquatic insects and other small prey. Once fully developed, a nymph climbs out of the water and molts one final time. The winged adult then emerges, leaving its empty outer skin attached to a plant, rock, or other surface.
Conservation Status
The Widow Skimmer carries a global NatureServe rank of G5, meaning it is considered secure across its overall range. Local populations still depend on ponds, marshes, and wetland vegetation that provide places for nymphs to develop and adults to hunt, rest, and reproduce.
Fun Facts About the Widow Skimmer
- Both males and females have dark patches near the bases of their wings.
- Only mature males develop the prominent white wing bands.
- The powdery coating on an older male’s abdomen is called pruinescence.
- Adults often return to the same perch after short hunting flights.
- Dragonflies are beneficial predators that help control mosquitoes and other flying insects.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Widow Skimmers dangerous?
No. Widow Skimmers do not sting and are not dangerous to people. Their hunting equipment is designed for capturing other insects.
Where should I look for one?
Search along sunny pond edges, marshes, lakes, and slow-moving waterways. Watch exposed reeds, grass stems, and twigs for resting adults.
Do male and female Widow Skimmers look different?
Yes. Mature males have white wing bands and pale, powdery abdomens. Females have yellow abdominal stripes and lack the white patches on their wings.
A Naturalist’s Note
Dragonflies do not always make photography easy, but the Widow Skimmer may offer a second chance. After darting away to capture prey or confront an intruder, it often circles back to a familiar perch.
That habit gives the patient observer time to notice the details: the broad dark wings, delicate white markings, enormous eyes, and tiny legs wrapped tightly around a grass stem. It is a good reminder that even the insects we pass beside a pond can be remarkably beautiful when we stop long enough to look.
Similar Species
- Twelve-spotted Skimmer: Mature males also have black-and-white patterned wings, but they display three dark spots on each wing rather than one broad dark patch near the base. Their spotted pattern extends farther toward the wing tips.
- Common Whitetail: Adult males have a broad, chalky-white abdomen and dark bands across the wings. They are generally stockier than Widow Skimmers and lack the Widow Skimmer male’s combination of dark basal patches and white outer wing bands.
- Band-winged Dragonlet: This smaller Gulf Coast dragonfly may also have large dark areas across its wings. However, it has a slimmer body, and its dark wing markings usually extend differently across the wings rather than forming the Widow Skimmer’s bold basal patches.
- Halloween Pennant: Its orange-brown wings can resemble a female Widow Skimmer from a distance. A Halloween Pennant has numerous smaller spots and bands covering much more of each wing, along with a slimmer body and fluttering, butterfly-like flight.