Field Guide
🐛
Black-tailed Skimmer
Orthetrum cancellatum
1 photo
·1 photographer
·Common · 1 ptsMales powder-blue with black tip; sunbathes on bare ground.
Species Profile
Green List (not of conservation concern in the UK)
- Lifespan
- 2–3 months as adults; total lifecycle around 1–2 years from egg to adult
- Size & Weight
- 28–34 mm body length; wingspan 50–56 mm
- Habitat
- Still and slow-flowing freshwater bodies including ponds, lakes, gravel pits, and ditches with emergent vegetation.
- UK Distribution
- Widespread across southern and central England, Wales, and southern Scotland; resident species with populations strengthened by summer immigrants from continental Europe.
- Diet
- Carnivorous; hunts small flying insects including midges, gnats, small flies, and occasionally small dragonflies.
- Prey
- Midges, gnats, flies, and small insects caught in flight
- Predators
- Robber flies, larger dragonfly species, insectivorous birds (particularly flycatchers and swallows), and spiders
- Mating Season
- June to September
- Breeding
- Females lay eggs in batches by dipping abdomen into water; nymphs are aquatic and undergo incomplete metamorphosis with 10–12 instars over 1–2 years depending on water temperature.
- Behaviour
- Males are highly territorial and perch conspicuously on emergent vegetation or bare ground, frequently returning to the same spot. They patrol water margins vigorously and engage in aerial contests with rival males. Females are more elusive and visit water primarily to oviposit.
- •Named for the distinctive black mark at the base of the male's tail (abdomen), which females lack
- •Males exhibit impressive colour change from yellow-green when newly emerged to powdery blue with age
- •Can fly at speeds up to 30 mph and hover stationary while hunting
- •Nymphs are fierce aquatic predators, feeding on tadpoles, small fish fry, and other invertebrate larvae
- •One of the earliest dragonflies to emerge in spring, sometimes appearing from April onwards
Camera Settings (top photos)
Shutter
1/500s
ISO Range
200
Aperture
f/f/5.6
Focal Length
300mm
