Keeled skimmer

Keeled skimmer
Male
Female both at Crockford Stream, Hampshire
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Suborder:	Anisoptera
Family:	Libellulidae
Genus:	Orthetrum
Species:	O. coerulescens
Binomial name
Orthetrum coerulescens (Fabricius, 1798)

The keeled skimmer, Orthetrum coerulescens, is a species of European dragonfly. This species resembles the black-tailed skimmer but is slimmer and the male has no black tip. Females and immature males lack the black abdominal pattern. The pterostigma is orange and the thorax usually bears pale stripes. It breeds mainly in peat bogs and flies (in the UK) from June to September.

• 
  mating pair
  Schwarzbach, Wöllnau, Saxony, Germany
• 
  female
  Cerreto Ratti, Alessandria, Italy
• 
  mature female
  Crockford Stream, Hampshire, England

Behaviour

This dragonfly is common in central and southern Europe. It is locally common in western Britain and Ireland. Its typical habitat is acidic heath land, where it is often seen alongside golden-ringed dragonflies. Its flight is quite skittish, with frequent hovering, and it lands often. It can fly quite a distance from water, despite its seemingly weak flight. When it perches, the wings are held forward.

See also

• List of British dragonflies